


Jim Hawkins: An Untold Story

by CoryWhatsizname



Series: Jim Hawkins in Storybrooke [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Planet (2002)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Humor, Angst with a Happy Ending, Complete Rewrite of Season Six, Dark Past, Eventual Romance, Existential Crisis, F/F, F/M, Gay Romance, Heartbreak, Literary References, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Musical Chapter, New and Returning LGBT Characters, Queer Themes, Revenge, Slow Burn, The Land of Untold Stories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2019-11-27 15:35:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 220,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18196061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoryWhatsizname/pseuds/CoryWhatsizname
Summary: Jim Hawkins journeys to Storybrooke to avenge the death of his lost love, Killian Jones. His world is shattered when he learns the story did not happen the way he was told. Killian is very much alive and in love with someone else. Jim struggles to come to terms with the truth in this strange new world. Along the way, Jim will contend with evil queens, invisible men, masked phantoms, and the haunting vision of the life he might have led.





	1. The Sword of the Ocean

**Author's Note:**

> This story is something I've been working on for a while, almost since the sixth season of Once Upon a Time first aired. It initially spawned from another idea, a completely different sixth season in which Jim Hawkins was a supporting character and the Brothers Grimm were the main antagonists. The Land of Untold Stories arc set me on an entirely new path for Jim and the cast as a whole, one that I'm very excited about. I'm very interested in your thoughts on the story. Constructive criticism is welcome!
> 
> This first chapter is Jim's journey to Storybrooke from the Land of Untold Stories. It doesn't feature the main OUAT cast yet, but there are a few other classic characters to keep him company. This version of Jim sees him grown up into a pirate hunter, with a personal vendetta against one pirate in particular.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim Hawkins journeys to Storybrooke aboard the Nautilus with his associate Nadir and Nadir’s assistant Darius. Jim meets Captain Nemo and Ishmael, a member of the crew, who caution him against revenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I prepare for the conclusion of this fic, I am going back and making edits for consistency and accuracy. I ran the numbers and Jim’s currently written age of 300 doesn’t make sense with the timeline. Jim’s correct age is approximately 100. I am going to correct any contradictions. I apologize for the confusion.

_"A new world calls across the ocean. A new world calls across the sky. A new world whispers in the shadows, 'Time to fly. Time to fly!'"_ \- _S_ _ongs for a New World_

* * *

“Are we there yet?” Jim groaned, sipping a mug of the worst coffee he’d ever tasted.

Jim Hawkins was a man of about thirty, tan and relatively handsome. There was something about him - perhaps his shaggy beard or the rings around his eyes - that made him seem much older. He futilely blew strands of dark brown hair away from his face. Arms folded, Jim leaned against the hull of the ship, supporting himself with the toe of his boot.

“Didn’t your father ever teach you to have patience?” said Nadir beside him, drumming his fingers on the guardrail. “We haven’t even left the harbor.”

Nadir Khan was either in his forties or fifties. Jim couldn’t quite tell. He had dark skin and jade eyes that had an aura of weariness and wisdom. He gazed out at murky blue nothing through the aperture at the bow. They were inside a submarine, a new experience for them both.

“My father left when I was ten,” Jim answered in annoyance. “And trust me. You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting.”

Nadir didn’t respond to Jim’s cryptic melodrama. He instead turned to the young boy standing nearby. The boy, no older than twelve, was aimlessly pacing about the chamber, playing with things that he probably shouldn't. The boy had a messy head of hair and was dressed in an ill-fitting sailor's uniform. He looked even more bored than Jim did. It was starting to get on Nadir’s nerves.

“Darius!” said Nadir sharply. “If you really need to occupy yourself, can you please go offer your assistance to the Captain upstairs?” Darius gave a quick nod and took off up the stairs, each step making a reverberating metallic sound.

“Is that really what you’re going to wear?” asked Nadir, eyeing Jim’s attire. Unlike Jim, who boarded the ship practically in the clothes he woke up in, Nadir had taken great pains to blend in with the crew. He wore a nondescript blue uniform, probably acquired at a thrift store near the docks, and was nearly invisible among them.

“What’s wrong with my clothes?” asked Jim, inspecting them. He wore a long duster jacket and his belt bore a scabbard for a large, somewhat archaic-looking cutlass. They were the clothes of a pirate. Or a pirate hunter.

“You’re going to stick out like a sore thumb,” Nadir told him.

“So will you as soon as we get there,” Jim retorted, gesturing to Nadir’s naval garments. “You don’t know what their navy looks like, if they even have one.”

“That’s not the point,” said Nadir. “You should always strive to be as unmemorable as possible. If the unexpected happens, you still have your disguise. I blend in here and, for now, that’s enough.”

“In my line of work, this _is_ blending in,” said Jim. He took another sip of coffee, mistakenly thinking it might taste better the second time around. It didn’t.

Nadir let out a chuckle which turned into a cough. “You work among pirates and other rephrensibles. This new world may have none of their sort there.”

“I’ve been in this business a while,” Jim began, with a cocky edge to his voice. “If there’s water, there’s a port. If there’s a port, there’s ships, traders, and merchants. And if there are ships and merchants to rob, there will undoubtedly be pirates. And you and I both know there is at least one pirate where we’re going.”

“Yes, yes, as you’ve said. And if one of the Black Coats spots you?” Nadir asked, poking a hole straight through Jim’s argument. "You're making yourself an easy target."

Jim paused to think. The Black Coats. The shadowy men whose trail they were following. He hadn’t considered that complication and had no satisfactory answer. Only their leader, Mr. Hyde, knew his face. Nonetheless, it could still be a problem.

“All right. What’s your plan, if you’re so smart?” Jim asked. He nearly took another drink, but smartly set his coffee on the nearest flat surface.

“Same as always.” Nadir held up his hand to count his plan out on his fingers. “Scout out the area, find a more fitting disguise, and investigate undercover without making a spectacle of myself.”

Nadir flicked the handle of Jim’s cutlass, making a quick and quiet ping. His plan was simple and sensible, making Jim annoyed he hadn’t thought to be more covert. Obviously, Jim would be making a spectacle by comparison.

“So, you do this kind of thing a lot,” said Jim, dismissing Nadir’s subtle jab. Nadir nodded and Jim shrugged in response. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

Jim joined Nadir in staring through the aperture at the watery depths of the harbor. Jim saw nothing but an azure void occasionally punctuated by leisurely swimming fish, which made Jim even more impatient. Darius soon rejoined them, whispering something to Nadir in their native language.

Letting out a long-held breath, Jim began rapidly tapping his foot. “Can’t this thing move any faster?” he groused. Muttering to himself, he started searching his pockets. Darius caught sight of something above them and made motions for Jim to stop talking.

“This rust bucket travels by portal, right? We should be there in an instant,” Jim said, not noticing Darius’s attempts to shush him. He had just found what he was looking for when a voice stopped him in his tracks.

“This rust bucket,” said a deep voice behind them, “is still locking on to our target location. Lands without magic are much harder for the _Nautilus_ to reach than lands like this.” It was the Captain.

Jim froze. He stuffed whatever he had found back into the pocket before the Captain could see.

“Furthermore,” the Captain continued, “what you call a rust bucket is my masterpiece of masterpieces, the culmination of my life’s work. This vessel is capable of feats an air breather like yourself could not even begin to imagine.”

Jim was stunned into silence. He was about to attempt an apology when the Captain added, “You may be right, though. It could do with a fresh coat of paint.” The Captain began walking with his cane toward the front of the ship, gripping the railing to keep his balance.

Nadir pushed ahead of Jim as the Captain descended the wrought-iron stairs. “Tell me, Captain. How does a ship such as this work? I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.” Nadir marveled at the intricate layouts of levers and buttons at each worker’s station. Jim sensed that he just wanted back in the Captain’s good graces.

“I’m glad you asked!” said the Captain, grinning. It was the first time Jim had seen him smile since they met days prior. “We so rarely have riders. I hardly ever get to show off anymore. Ordinarily, one would not refer to a submarine as a ‘ship’, but I think you will find this particular vessel has more than earned the title.

“This submersible is powered by sodium-mercury batteries, the sodium extracted directly from distilled seawater. I see you've already helped yourself in the kitchen.” He pointed his cane at Jim’s coffee, which made Jim nearly spit it back up. The Captain continued on, invigorated.

The Captain tapped his cane against the hull. “The ship is double-hulled and segmented into water-tight compartments, nearly unsinkable.” He took them over to a diagram of the ship’s layout. “Floodable tanks adjust our buoyancy and depth. A ramming prow skewers enemy ships.” He made a skewering motion with the cane just to drive the point home.

Finally, the Captain hobbled over to the aperture and directed them to look out at the side. There were attachments mounted against the craft sucking in water through strange looking flaps. “You see those? Those are my most recent addition – gills!” He pointed with his cane.

Jim and Nadir were both bewildered, looking at the mechanisms work. “Gills?” Jim asked, not sure that he had heard him correctly.

“Yes!” exclaimed the Captain, overtaken by enthusiasm for his invention. “Until recently, the only thing we could not do was recycle stale air into something breathable. We had to resurface periodically or we’d all suffocate. But while visiting a chocolatier friend of mine – who I met at the funeral for the late Prince Pondicherry – he gave me the most absurdly brilliant idea. Rig the ship to filter oxygen from the water, just like a fish!” He clapped his hands together. “Now we only have to surface to replenish our food supply.”

The Captain shakily stepped down from the ledge by the aperture. “And so, gentlemen, that and more is why they call the _Nautilus_ 'the Sword of the Ocean', and not a common rust bucket.” The Captain stood there proudly, clearly awaiting a response.

Nadir nearly applauded, but instead said, “Thank you for the enlightening tour of your ship, Captain Nemo. You’ll have to forgive Mr. Hawkins. He’s never been on a submarine before.”

“And you have?” Jim muttered under his breath.

“Did you say something about chocolate?” Darius asked absently.

Nadir cleared his throat and cast him a stern look. “Really? That was your takeaway?” Darius shrank back into silence.

The Captain didn’t seem to mind though. He offered to take Darius back to his office to sample his friend’s latest confection, still not released in stores.

On their way up the stairs, Jim heard Darius blurt “How’s that even possible?” Jim assumed it had something to do with the ship. The Captain just laughed and gave the boy a pat on the head.

“Children,” Nadir sighed, leaning over the railing. “Enthusiastic and inexpensive, but so easily distracted.”

Jim looked again at the Captain and Darius ascending the stairs. “Where did you find that kid anyway?”

Nadir coughed. “He found me,” he said. “I posted an advertisement looking for an assistant and in walks a child with a lollipop in one hand and a kit of investigator’s tools in the other.” Jim reared his head back in surprise. “He can be a bit scatter-brained, but don’t let that fool you. He’s a very competent detective.”

Jim still found the situation somewhat odd. “What about his parents?” he asked, a bit concerned. “Are they not worried about him? My mom would have thrown a fit if I wanted to go on a trip like this at his age.”

“His father passed away a few years ago, leaving his mother very poor. Every time Darius is paid, I wire most of his check directly to her,” Nadir explained. “Getting her permission to take him on this indefinitely long quest of ours was surprisingly easy. She said, ‘It’s not like I can afford to take him on vacation.’”

Nadir and Jim both got a chuckle out of that, but Jim’s smile quickly faded. The situation was actually rather sad. In fact, to Jim, it felt awfully familiar. He’d have to remember to be nicer to Darius in the future.

Jim heard little metallic footsteps coming back down the stairs. “Mr. Khan! Mr. Hawkins! Look!” exclaimed Darius, holding out a cube of pink gummy candy. “Square candy that looks round!” Nadir didn’t seem very interested, but Jim decided to humor the boy.

“It looks pretty square to me, kid,” Jim said, switching up the angle of his view. Darius flipped the candy over and, sure enough, a pair of gelatinous candy eyeballs were jiggling about in all directions. Jim laughed. “Square candy that looks ‘round. That’s clever.”

Darius generously offered Jim the candy. Jim took it. It was the strangest thing Jim had ever put in his mouth. And Jim had eaten barbecued borogrove. 

Suddenly, a crew member stood and shouted, “We’ve cleared the harbor!”

Another called out, “Locked on target, Captain!”

Captain Nemo came hobbling to the rails outside his office. “You heard them, men. Battle stations! Fire up the portal generators! Divert the remaining power to the shields and propulsion system! Secure your seats!” The Captain caught sight of Jim and the others, still standing around. “And someone tell those air breathers in front to sit down!”

Jim huffed. “I guess that means us.”

“Come on, you nubs. The Captain says take a seat.” A very burly man in a stained sleeveless shirt guided Jim and Nadir to some vacant chairs. Darius quickly followed and found a seat of his own. “Buckle up. This could be a bumpy ride,” the man said with an ominous grin.

Jim was unfazed. He fumbled with his belt till it was fastened. It wasn’t easy as the lights began flickering, all unnecessary power being sent to the machines starting to hum and buzz outside the main hull.

Through the aperture, Jim watched as a ring of light formed in front of the ship. It was almost pitch black inside, except for the monitors. All light radiated from the portal shimmering in the water. Once the ring completed itself, a rush of water came spiraling out like a whirlpool tilted on its side.

“Now!” Nemo bellowed. The engines roared to life and the _Nautilus_ drove straight into the oncoming vortex. Inertia pressed Jim flat against the back of his seat. He started having second thoughts.

As the ship bumped and lurched its way through the tunnel of water, Jim was reminded of a similar experience when he was young. Despite his protests, a close friend insisted they go to Pleasure Island and ride Monstro, the new roller coaster named for the infamous whale. It was all fun and games until Jim became violently ill and vomited over the side of the cart.

There was no place for Jim to be sick this time. Jim curled over and painted the floor around him with his breakfast. Nadir leaned away, his face contorted with disgust. A nearby crew member resentfully grumbled, “I guess I’ll be the one cleaning that up.”

“What kind of sailor gets seasick so easily?” Nadir asked disgustedly.

“The kind who sails _above_ water,” Jim answered, wiping his mouth.

Like Monstro, the _Nautilus_ also came to an eventual, merciful stop. The view from the aperture returned to a placid midnight blue. Jim breathed easy when the raucous movements of the ship gave way to a gentle glide.

“A successful voyage, sir! We’ve arrived!” cheered a crewman. The others joined him in a great hurrah.

”Not so fast,” said Nemo. “Let’s make sure we’re in the correct realm. We don’t want to get stuck in the ice at Arendelle again.”

While they did that, Jim unbuckled and began looking for a way to mop up his mess. He managed to find some rags that he thought might do the job. When he came back to the scene of the crime, a crew member had already taken care of it. Jim couldn’t help feeling bad for the poor man, not to mention seriously embarrassed.

Those worries all ended when Jim heard it. It was a faint sound Jim heard about a month or so before, and then many decades before that.

Tick. Tock.  
Tick. Tock.  
Tick. Tock.

Jim reached into his jacket and withdrew a gold pocket watch. Flipping it open, he saw the hands of the clock had begun to turn again. The hands weren't exactly turning, per se. The second hand was stuck in place. With every tick, it returned to where it started. That was fine. Jim didn't use the watch for time-keeping. All that mattered was, after years of silence, the watch had finally begun to tick again. Jim held it to his ear. The hands ticked louder and louder. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. It was like music.

Jim laughed. “Yes!” he exclaimed triumphantly. He nearly jumped for joy. He grabbed Nadir and briefly shook him. “We’re here!”

“I know! Did you not hear the crew?” Nadir asked, perturbed by Jim’s drastic change in mood.

Jim released Nadir and retreated to a corner to listen to the clock tick away. As he listened, practically giddy with excitement, the ticking slowed to a crawl and stopped.

“What?” Jim cried. “No. No! No! No!” He shook the watch furiously to no avail.

Jim dashed up the stairs to the main controls. Holding the watch aloft, he said, “We need to turn around!” The helmsman had no idea what Jim was talking about. “Did you not hear me? Turn the ship around!” Jim pointed to the watch as if it meant something to anyone other than him.

“And who made you captain?” said the helmsman, indignant. Jim huffed and began to reach for the controls. The helmsman slapped his hand away. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Hands off the controls or we’ll throw you in the brig!”

“What seems to be the problem here?” It was Nemo.

The helmsman pointed to Jim. “Sir, this nub here-”

“Nub?” Jim spat, insulted. “I’ll have you know, I went to the Eton Royal Naval Academy!”

“Oh, a real ring knocker, eh?” said the helmsman, mockingly.

Jim nodded smugly. “They didn't hand out rings, but you could say that.” He turned to Nemo. “Captain, we need to turn the ship around. We passed our destination.”

The Captain walked away from him to the corner, expecting Jim to follow. “And you know this how?” he asked skeptically.

Jim held out the watch. “Because of this. The closer we get, the louder it ticks. When we left the portal, it was ticking like crazy. About a league back, it stopped.”

The Captain examined the ordinary-looking watch in Jim’s hand. He took out his glasses. “The closer we get to what exactly?” he asked, inspecting the intricate gears.

“To the port,” Jim replied, omission apparent in his voice.

“There’s magic in this watch, I take it,” said Nemo, tucking his spectacles away. “I’ll tell the crew to turn around, but only if you tell me where this watch is really taking you.”

Jim stewed on that for a moment before agreeing. “Fine,” he said, putting the watch away. “But only in private.”

“Turn the ship around,” the Captain said, walking back to the helm.

The helmsman screwed up his face in disbelief. “Really? Over a watch?”

The Captain’s face did not move an inch. “That’s an order. Mr. Hawkins, please join me in my office.” The helmsman passed the order to the men to turn the ship around. Jim made a rude gesture at him before following Captain Nemo to his office.

When Jim entered the room, he was awestruck by the ornate architecture. Everything was gilded to the point that it glowed. The floor was hardwood and draped in oriental rugs. Masterworks of art hung in every crevice where Nemo couldn’t make room for books. In the back was a colossal pipe organ, giving Jim the distinct feeling he was in a church. It wasn’t a good feeling.

“Have a seat, Mr. Hawkins,” said the Captain, gesturing toward the seat on the opposite side of his mahogany desk.

Jim sat down in the leather-lined chair. “Please, sir. Call me Jim.” He saw on the desk a small bowl of the strange square candy Darius had given him. It was like all of their little jelly eyes were on him at once. “The kid comes in here and all he wants to talk about is the candy,” Jim remarked as he looked about the space.

“Would you like one?” offered Nemo, sitting down in his elegant office chair.

“No, thank you. They’re still scraping the last one off your floor,” Jim joked. Nemo didn’t seem to find the humor in it.

“Suit yourself,” said Nemo, grabbing a piece of the candy. “I want you to know, Jim, that I’m very wary about allowing magic aboard the _Nautilus_. It’s dangerous and it interferes with its workings. I want to know what’s so special about this little trinket of yours. Where is it taking you?”

Jim would have eaten an entire bowl of candy eyeballs if it would have gotten him out of this conversation. “Like I said, it’s guiding me to the port.” Jim knew his lies were obvious. He tried to look Nemo in the eye while saying it but failed miserably.

The Captain tilted his head and stared right into Jim’s avoidant eyes. His look said, “Bullshit.”

His mouth instead said, “Magic isn’t my strongest suit, Mr. Hawkins. Jim, I mean. The ship’s portal generators, I admit, were not my own design. I do know, however, that this item is guiding you to more than just a simple destination. May I see the watch again?”

He held out his hand. Jim begrudgingly handed over the watch. The Captain took it and put on his spectacles. He looked at the watch's cover. It bore the image of a golden crocodile with a man's hand in its teeth. Nemo recoiled just a bit. It was awfully macabre to put on a watch. Nemo opened it up and poked around inside. Rather than look at the face or the gears, he turned his attention to the picture on the inside of the watch’s cover.

“Who’s this young man in the picture?” Nemo asked, adjusting his glasses.

Trying to be casual, Jim faked a smile. At least he tried. “No one. That picture came with the watch,” he said innocently. Nemo didn’t appear to buy it.

The Captain skipped the question and moved along. “Does the picture have anything to do with the magic in the watch?” he asked quite astutely.

Jim sighed. “Yes, it does,” he admitted. At this rate, Jim would be divulging everything in minutes. Unlike most people he'd encountered in his life, Captain Nemo had a gaze that was impossible to lie to. Jim would have thrown himself overboard were there an overboard to be thrown.

“Is the watch leading you to the man in the photograph?” asked Nemo.

“No,” Jim said. This was true, as far as Jim knew at the time. He might as well be honest with the Captain. Would it really put a wrench in his plans for one old man to know? It's not like Nemo would be joining them on land.

“Who then?” asked the Captain. He set the watch down so that the picture faced Jim, two sets of eyes on him.

Jim took a moment, weighing the pros and cons of confiding the truth. He decided the Captain was a man he could trust, or at least a man who minded his own business. “It’s leading me to the man who killed him,” Jim told him bluntly.

The Captain grabbed another candy out of the dish. He leaned back in his chair. “And when you find this man, you’re going to get your revenge, I imagine?” The question was so impersonal, almost academic. It was like Nemo was accustomed to hearing tales like Jim's.

“That’s how these stories tend to go,” Jim answered, a bit off-guard. “I have been hunting this man for decades. Thanks to this watch, I finally tracked him down.” Jim looked somewhat proud of himself as he fiddled with the watch, hoping for another tick.

Nemo smiled along with him. “So you lied to me then,” said Nemo, dropping his grin. “You and your friend, Mr. Khan.”

“Nadir doesn’t know,” Jim told him. “He made this journey for exactly the reason he said, to bring that Svengali guy to justice. I just supplied him with the coordinates so I could get a ride.” Jim was telling the truth and the Captain believed him.

Captain Nemo squished the piece of candy between his fingers, its gooey little eyes bulging. “You must have given him a reason why you wanted to accompany him.”

Would this man’s questions never end? Jim said, “I’m a pirate hunter. I told him there’s a pirate in this port with a massive bounty on his head. It’s true enough.”

“But you’re not bringing him back to collect the bounty, are you?” Nemo said. Jim could feel his judgment and condescension and he had about enough.

“No,” said Jim, squeezing his armrests.

Nemo leaned forward, setting his glasses on the desk. “Are you still expecting a round trip after everything you’ve just told me?” he asked.

“I wasn’t planning on leaving anyway,” Jim said vaguely. There was a dark undertone to his voice. He was perfectly relaxed. It gave Nemo pause. For a moment, the two just looked at each other wondering what the other was thinking. Then they heard a sound on Nemo's desk..

Tick. Tock.  
Tick. Tock.

Jim reached out and snatched the now-ticking watch. He cradled it in his hands and watched the broken hands try to turn. Captain Nemo sighed and stood up from his chair. “That will be all, Mr. Hawkins. Jim. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors and I hope you enjoyed your voyage aboard the _Nautilus_.”

“Thank you, sir. Very much,” Jim said, getting up as well. Nemo’s posture was so regal and imposing that Jim nearly bowed before leaving his office. He quickly walked through the maze of antique furniture to the door, which he was alarmed to see had been left open.

He left the room, only to startle and be startled by another one of Nemo’s crew. He was a man of average height, brown-haired and mustached. Some sort of record book was sandwiched underneath his arm.

“I beg your pardon,” said the man, composing himself. “I was on my way to speak with the Captain and I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation.”

“What about it?” Jim asked tersely. He brushed past him, not in the mood for a chat.

The man followed after him. “I’m sorry for eavesdropping," he said. "It’s about the man you came to find.”

Jim stopped and put his hand on his hip. “Why, do you know him?” he said, his voice oozing sarcasm.

“No! It’s nothing like that,” said the man nervously, noticing Jim's cutlass. “It’s just that your story bears a certain similarity to another one I’ve heard. I thought it might be… elucidating for you to hear.”

“Is it long? Because I’ve got places to be,” Jim asked, completely monotone.

“Very, but it can be abridged,” said the man.

“All right,” Jim said, putting the watch away. “You’ve got until we dock. What's the story?”

The man began his story, walking with Jim around the mezzanine. “There was a captain once, or so I've heard, who sailed around the world searching for an elusive white whale. The whale was his mortal enemy, you see. It had taken the captain’s leg and the captain would stop at nothing to get revenge. The man went mad trying to find the creature and kill it.”

“Did he kill it?” Jim asked, somewhat interested.

“No one knows if the whale died or not,” said the man solemnly. “We only know that in their final confrontation, the whale killed him and the entirety of his crew. Only one man is known to have survived.”

Something in that story left Jim feeling uneasy and defeated, and more than that, feeling accused of something. “Why exactly did you want to tell me that?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at the man.

“Just a word of caution,” the man said apologetically. “Vengeance is a dangerous path to walk on. Pursuing it might only lead to more suffering and, worse, the suffering of others.”

Jim was unimpressed by his reasoning. “Look, I’ve been walking this path a pretty long time,” he told him coolly. “And I don’t know how I could stand to suffer more. But thanks for the tip.” The man and Jim reached the other end of the curved catwalk back to the mezzanine. Jim gave the man a dismissive pat on the shoulder and turned to leave.

“One more thing,” said the man. Jim rolled his eyes in exhaustion. “Since you’re dead-set on going after this man, could you look for one other for me?” Jim turned around, pulled by curiosity and his remaining empathy. “I doubt he’d be here, but if you happen to encounter a man named Queequeg, please let him know I’m looking for him. You’ll know him when you see him. He’s very tall, dark complexion, covered head-to-toe in tattoos.” Based on how high the man raised his hand, this Queequeg must have been very tall indeed. 

“Queequeg,” Jim sounded out. “Funny name.”

The man shrugged amusedly. “He's not from around here.”

“And your name is?” Jim asked, realizing he never bothered to ask the gentleman for his name. "Who should I tell him is looking for him?"

“Call me-” the man began, cut off by the Captain's door slamming open.

“Ishmael!” the Captain’s voice rang out. “There you are! What are you doing talking to this one?” Ishmael hustled over to Nemo’s door, record book in hand. Nemo was standing in the doorframe, clearly growing weary of Jim’s presence onboard. “Have we reached our destination, Mr. Hawkins? You’re the one with the magic timepiece.”

Jim took out the watch. Throughout his conversation with Ishmael, Jim somehow failed to notice that the pocket watch was ticking manically, now dancing across the palm of his hand. Tick! Tick! Tick! Tick! Tick! Tick! Tick!

“We’re here!” Jim announced, holding up the watch.

The Captain nodded and hobbled past Jim to the ledge. Leaning over the railing, the Captain shouted, “We’ve arrived, men! Take us to periscope depth.”

“Aye-aye, Captain!” the crew returned. They began bustling about, readying the ship to resurface.

Nemo motioned for Jim to join him at the periscope. After a moment, a crewman gave Nemo the signal that the _Nautilus_ was at the proper depth to see land. The Captain took hold of the periscope’s handles and looked through. He turned left and right, and took a step back.

“Well, are we here?” asked Jim expectantly. Darius and Nadir were both suddenly at his side, in equal anticipation of Nemo’s response.

“You tell me,” said Nemo, stepping away from the periscope. “My eyesight isn’t quite what it used to be.”

Nadir and Darius deflated a bit. Jim tentatively stepped forward and took hold of the scope. He placed his eyes up to the lenses and looked out at the world above. He saw the open sea, then he saw the shoreline. He almost made a full rotation when his eyes came across their destination. His breath hitched.

“I’m seeing a port. Off starboard, north by northwest!” Jim said with exuberance.

Darius cheered. Nemo gave the men directions for steering the _Nautilus_ closer to land. Nadir requested that they be dropped off outside of town. Something about secrecy and not raising alarm. Nemo sounded less than enthused about the extra work.

Jim didn’t care. The sounds around him were distant and fuzzy. Jim was lost in his own little world. He took out the watch one last time. He felt the grooves of the crocodile on the cover and opened it. The hands were now ticking at a steady rhythm, like a beating heart.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Inside the cover was the photograph of a raven-haired young man of about twenty. He had a patchy beard and an innocent if not slightly mischievous smile. Jim beamed down at the little portrait, seemingly torn from a larger picture. Jim's own face, much younger, had been torn in half to fit the other man in the frame.

“We made it, Killian,” Jim said to the man’s picture. He tenderly ran his thumb over the image. Holding the watch in one hand, Jim took one last look through the periscope. In the distance, he saw a small town nestled in the woods by the shore. Jim smiled. “Storybrooke.”


	2. The Clipper of the Clouds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim, Nadir, and Darius journey through the forest into Storybrooke. While Jim breaks into his home to get disguises, Jefferson fights for custody of Grace. Snow and David direct Jim to Granny’s, which he and Darius make their home base.

_"When the sun is coming and the world has come ashore, if you're hoping for a harbor, then you'll find an open door - in the winter, from the water, through whatever's in the way - to the ones who have come from away."_ \- "Welcome to the Rock", _Come From Away_

* * *

Captain Nemo brought the _Nautilus_ to shore on the other side of the forest, around the bend from the town. Nadir was insistent that they enter Storybrooke covertly. Disembarking from a colossal submarine in the middle of town was the antithesis of covert.

Nadir also insisted that Jim could not be seen in Storybrooke until they found him some less conspicuous attire. As undignified as hiding in the forest would be, Jim agreed. After all, he and Nadir had a deal. If Jim agreed to help Nadir find his fugitive, Nadir would help Jim find his pirate. Jim would play along with Nadir’s little disguise game if it got him what he came for.

“How about over there?” Jim asked, breathless from a climb up a steep and rocky hill. He pointed out in the distance. There was a house tucked away within some tall trees. Jim withdrew a spyglass from the inside of his coat and looked closer. The house was very large from the looks of things.

“Give me just a minute,” Nadir wheezed. He rested on a nearby boulder, taking several deep breaths.

Jim watched as he collected himself with as little dignity as possible. “You’re the one who said we should avoid trails,” Jim teased, leaning against a nearby tree.

Nadir reached down to help Darius up the hill, but the boy didn’t appear to need it. He was a fount of boundless energy, not winded in the slightest. Jim watched him as he ran down an embankment into a small clearing.

“Enjoy it while you can, kid!” Jim called after him. “It’s a bitch getting old.”

“Language,” said Nadir sternly, stretching out his back.

Jim stood up straight and dusted the dirt off his pants. “Really? You take the kid to hunt down wanted criminals but God forbid he hears some bad language. I grew up around sailors. You can imagine the kind of things I heard at his age.” Jim took a drink from his canteen. It was filled with Nemo’s filtered seawater. There was only a slight aftertaste.

“And yet you turned out so well,” Nadir mocked with a pasted-on grin. Jim made a gesture with his hand that was offensive in Nadir’s homeland. Nadir puffed up his chest but did not dignify it with a response.

“I’m not a child,” Darius said indignantly, surprising them both. Jim quickly returned his fingers to their resting position. “And you’re not that old either.”

Jim laughed, putting his canteen back in his pack. “Trust me. I’m a lot older than you think. Also, I’m not the one climbing a tree.”

Darius did a flip off a branch and landed on the ground. Jim was impressed. He very nearly clapped.

“How old are you?” asked Darius, arms akimbo. “Thirty?”

Jim shook his head smugly. A guessing game. These were always fun.

“Forty?” Darius asked with an uncertain look.

“Guess again,” Jim told him, pointing his thumb upward.

“Fifty?” Darius all but shouted in disbelief.

Nadir stepped between them. “Enough! Mr. Hawkins, I believe you were trying to direct our attention to something.”

Jim had almost forgotten all about the house he spotted. “Oh, right! Over there,” Jim showed them. He handed Nadir his spyglass and pointed toward the distant house. “We could probably find some decent clothes to wear in there.”

“You mean breaking in and stealing them?” Nadir asked, peering through. “Another great example for the child.”

Nadir’s scorn was palpable. Jim turned to Darius, who appeared to be sketching some plants onto a notepad. “Darius, stealing is wrong,” Jim deadpanned.

“I know,” Darius returned with a dismissive wave. He didn’t even look up from his drawing.

“There you go. Happy?” Jim asked Nadir. Nadir just trudged past him. “What’s your brilliant plan? Do you have any money to buy new clothes? I doubt our money’s good here.”

Nadir stopped mid-step. Jim, unfortunately, was right. “There’s usually a currency exchange,” Nadir stated before continuing on.

Jim tailed him. “Look, you’ve clearly been doing this a lot longer than I have, but I don’t think that applies interdimensionally.” Jim’s look emanated sass. “And since you’re not letting me into town without a new 'disguise', I’m heading over to that house to snag one. Coming?”

With a spring in his step, Jim started off in the direction of the house. Darius closed his notes and followed after him.

Nadir covered his face with his hand and groaned. “We’re really going into this blind, aren’t we?”

“You didn’t figure that out before we left?” Darius asked as he passed by. “Jim, wait for me!”

Darius hustled to catch up with Jim, who was reinvigorated by finally besting Nadir in an argument. Nadir reluctantly followed, not wanting the boy to hear any more of Jim’s less than ethical ideas.

Five minutes along their new path, Nadir resigned himself to Jim’s plan. He cleared his throat to speak. If they were going to stray from their path to Storybrooke, breaking and entering in the process, they could at least make polite conversation.

“Was it true what you said on the ship?” Nadir asked, trying to be pleasant.

Jim’s blood ran cold remembering Nemo’s open office door. “I don’t know. I said a lot of things on the ship.”

“Yes, you did,” Nadir snarked. He clarified, “Did you really graduate from Eton’s Royal Naval Academy?”

Jim was so relieved that he didn’t ask about the watch. He laughed it off. “I never said that I graduated,” Jim told him.

“Then where’d you learn all that nautical nonsense?” Nadir asked, remembering how Jim was able to deftly direct the _Nautilus_ back to Storybrooke.

Giving him a cocky but cryptic look, Jim replied, “Experience.” Jim hopped across a row of rocks in a stream as easily as playing hopscotch.  

Jim decided he ought to steer the conversation in a different direction. After all, he wasn’t the only one who came there with secrets. “Here’s a question,” Jim began. “Why don’t you tell me a little more about this guy you’re here to find – this Svengali person?”

“What about him?” Nadir asked, somewhat defensive. He looked at the rocks in the water hesitantly, unsure of his step.

“If I’m going to help you track this guy down, I should probably know a few things. Who he is, what he did, what he looks like,” Jim explained. He lifted his left leg and balanced himself on the last wet rock.

Nadir watched him, half-hoping that he’d slip. “You know that circus show near the wharf in Ingary?” he inquired, never looking away from the slippery path as he crossed.

Jim thought for a moment. He was certain he saw a circus caravan pass through there a few times. He took a big jump back onto dry land. “Yeah… Mr. Why’s Phantasmagorium or something. What about it?”

“Erik Svengali _is_ Mr. Why,” said Nadir, standing on a rock larger and less perilous than the rest. “He’s very reclusive and sequesters himself the second he smells danger, which is why I’ve been so insistent on stealth for this mission. We can’t risk him disappearing again.” Nadir took a deep breath and bounded across the other stones. “As for what he did, well… Murder, extortion, kidnapping. The usual stuff.”

“The usual stuff,” Jim echoed. “Wait. Where’s Darius?” He turned around and suffered a nasty shock. Darius had been behind them this whole time.

“Darius! What did I tell you about sneaking up on people?” Nadir barked.

Darius let both his head and eyes roll back. “Only do it when you tell me to,” he recited. “Sorry. There was a bridge right down there!” He pointed over the edge of the waterfall downstream.

Jim craned his head over the short, rocky cliff. Sure enough, there was a small bridge over the creek. The kid was too observant for his own good. Jim, Nadir, and Darius continued hiking toward the house.

“Svengali is also a master of disguise,” Nadir warned. “He can be very hard to spot, which is why we have to beat him at his own game. As for his real appearance, the man has a face like death itself. One side looks healthy enough, but the other… It’s a face that could haunt your dreams until the day you die.”

Nadir was dead serious. The man could make quite a living writing pulp horror novels. Jim looked over at Darius, who was completely unaffected by the ghostly picture Nadir painted for them. He had taken out a pair of pruning shears and clipped a rhododendron flower from a bush. Jim was equally unimpressed.

“You into botany, kid?” Jim asked, changing the subject to something a little more cheery.

Darius nodded. “I collect flowers from every place we go, so I can press them and show them to my mom when we get home. She really likes flowers.”

Jim smiled. That was very sweet thing for Darius to do for his mother. The heartwarming moment didn’t last long though.

“What about your pirate?” Nadir asked, ripping Jim out of his reverie of stopping to smell the rhododendrons. “The one with the massive bounty, what’s his crime?”

“He’s a _pirate_ ,” Jim responded, making his way back to the path. His tone suffixed a silent “dumbass” to his response.

Nadir rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Yes, but what exactly did he do?”

Jim gripped the watch in his pocket. It was ticking slowly, but it was still ticking. Hopefully, Nadir would be easier to fool than Nemo. “Murder, looting, pillaging. The usual stuff,” Jim said just as breezily as Nadir.

Jim was being awfully mum, but Nadir didn’t really care. The pirate wasn’t his concern, although he had promised to offer his assistance. “And if I’ve found him, how will I know?” asked Nadir.

“He’s got a hook for a hand. Contrary to popular belief, that’s not a common trait among pirates,” Jim told him. “You’ll know him when you see him.”

Nadir paused. Jim heard his footsteps stop crunching the leaves beneath them. He turned and saw Nadir standing with the most quizzical expression. “Have you seen him?” Nadir inquired, suddenly finding Jim’s knowledge a bit dubious.

Jim didn’t directly answer the question. “I’ve got enough to go on,” he replied and ended the conversation there.

After another fifteen or so of walking, the three of them came upon the distant house. They came from above, upon a high ridge looking down at the backyard. Up close, it wasn’t a house so much as it was a mansion. The architecture wasn’t quite what Jim was used to, but he knew wealth when he saw it. They ducked behind some bushes to discuss their plan of attack.

“This is a big house,” Darius whispered, captioning the obvious. “You’re really going to break in?”

“That’s the plan. You two stay here,” Jim directed. “I’m going to scout it out.” He quickly but quietly made his way down to the building. Jim returned about five minutes later. “It doesn’t look like anybody’s home,” he said, crouching down to their level. “I think I can sneak in, find us some clothes, and sneak out without any trouble.”

“Then please, be my guest,” Nadir said, growing tired of it all.

“Remember, Darius, you should never steal things unless you absolutely have to,” Jim said semi-seriously, turning to go.

“Whatever. You might want to take this,” said Darius, holding out a serrated knife from his detective kit.

Jim grimaced and took the knife. “What’s this for?” he asked, examining it. It was a long, jagged thing, but the points were quite dull.

“Unlocking windows,” Darius said, as if it were completely normal for a twelve-year-old to possess such items or knowledge. “The locks might be different here, but it’s worth a try.”

Jim flipped the blade in the air and caught it again. “Thanks, buddy.” Darius smiled.

Jim tried every door on the first floor. They all were locked, impossible to open without excessive force. None of the lower windows opened and Jim really didn’t want to draw attention by breaking them. Luckily, there was an easy staircase to a second-story deck in the back.

Climbing the staircase, Jim found a set of double doors, made predominantly of glass. Through them, Jim got a good look at the house’s interior. Everything was dark, but Jim could see a china hutch containing an ornate tea set, a grand piano in the far corner, and a chandelier that looked like it belonged in an opera house.

Unfortunately, those doors were also locked. Jim whispered a curse and looked around. He spotted a window in the house’s far corner and, beneath the window, a path of shingles that led right to it. Better yet, the windows had shutters. Therefore, these windows could be opened.

Imagine Jim’s dismay when he saw that the shutters were fake. He could at least still jimmy open the window. Jim withdrew Darius’s serrated blade. He stuck it into the window’s mechanism, fiddling with it till something sprang loose. Jim went to pull the window up, but he could barely get his fingers underneath.

He sighed. “This really isn’t what you’re made for,” he said to his sword, as he jammed it under the window to use as a pry bar. As he worked it like a lever, Jim fretted that the metal might not withstand this level of abuse.

Then the lock broke. Jim breathed a sigh of relief and he lifted the window as high as it would go. He had hardly set one foot inside the house when an ear-splitting siren began to sound. Jim clutched his head and tumbled through the window into the room.

“Intruder alert!” boomed an unnatural voice. It was some kind of burglar deterrent. Jim would have to work fast. So much for not drawing attention. Reorienting himself, Jim saw that he was in what must be the master bedroom.

Everything about the room was just slightly off. The patterns, the designs. It seemed so alien despite being by all accounts a typical bedroom. The thing that puzzled Jim most, as the siren still blared in his ears, was a black metal panel that was facing the bed. No time to dwell on it. He had to find a closet or wardrobe, wherever the owners kept their things.

He opened one door. The tiny closet inside was practically empty. Metal racks for clothes were bolted to the walls, but they were all bare. "Weird," Jim thought.

Jim tried the opposite door. This room was filled to bursting with some of the most opulent men’s attire he had ever seen. Every shirt felt like silk. Each leather shoe positively gleamed. “He must live alone,” Jim surmised, looking back at the empty closet. The suite seemed to be built with a couple in mind.

Jim wished he could look longer. He grabbed three shirts and three pairs of pants at random. He found three pairs of socks in the dresser, on top of which Jim saw a small stack of green notes he assumed must be money. He stuffed those into his pockets as well.

“This guy's loaded. He won’t miss it,” Jim rationalized.

There was no time to look for coats. His hands were already full. Jim threw his plunder out the window and onto the ground, along with his discarded sword. He picked it all back up after climbing back out the window, traversing the narrow roofing, and hurrying down the staircase as fast as his legs could carry him. Jim dropped the pile of clothes in front of Darius and Nadir, who were looking at him, anxious and dumbfounded. He braced his knees and panted, nearly falling over.

“What the hell happened in there?” Nadir blurted, referring to the noise that could be heard all the way up on their perch.

“Language,” said Darius, making a cheeky joke.

Jim put his hands behind his head, a good trick for maximizing air flow into the lungs. “It’s some kind of trap for burglars,” Jim explained. He inhaled deeply and distributed the clothes. “Here. Pick a shirt. The fabric’s nice.”

Nadir couldn’t care less about the clothes. “You set off an alarm!” he hissed at Jim.

Jim was about to defend his clumsy thief work, but Darius interrupted. He held his new shirt and pants up to his small body. “This isn’t gonna fit,” he said, concerned.

“Well, I don’t think he had a kid, so we’ll just have to find a place that sells children’s sizes in town,” Jim assured him.

Nadir bundled up his clothes in his arms. They could figure it all out later. “We have to go now before that noise attracts attention,” he insisted.

For once, Jim did not argue. They each scooped up their new disguises and made a break for it back into the woods.

“I don’t feel good about taking this,” Darius told Jim as they ran. “Isn’t the guy who owns these going to miss his stuff?”

“Don’t worry about him,” Jim said, trying not to trip. “He can afford a few new shirts. A guy that rich doesn’t have any real problems.”

As the three of them fled through the woods, back in the direction of the town, Jim did not know then just how wrong he was. In fact, in the little town of Storybrooke, the owner of the mansion he robbed was indeed facing several very real problems. And there are some problems no amount of money can solve.

 

* * *

 

“I did everything you said!” Jefferson raged. “I got a job. I went to therapy. I started taking the meds that don’t fucking work. Now when do I get my daughter back?”

Jefferson Carter was a man approaching forty. He had wavy brown locks and a well-defined jaw. One would easily call him handsome were it not for the manic, angry look in his eye.

“Jefferson,” began Regina, seated behind her desk. “I understand your impatience. Really, I do, but we need to do things by the book here.”

Regina Mills was an imposing woman with a beauty and intensity that repels more than it attracts. She was dressed in a cream-colored pantsuit with black, short-cut hair. She spoke softly, trying her best to keep the situation calm and in control.

Jefferson began furiously pacing. “You’re the mayor! You wrote the book!” he said incredulously. “Just say the word and Grace’ll be home by dinner!”

Regina took a breath and rose up from her seat. “Jefferson, when I spoke to my mother in the afterlife, do you know what she said to me?”

Jefferson threw up his hands. “Cora? I don’t know. Off with their heads?” Who cares what the old hag had to say?

Regina ignored this. “She asked me to right her wrongs for her. Now, most of the people she wronged are dead, but you’re a special case.” Jefferson folded his arms and prepared to listen to another self-righteous monologue. “My mother and I both screwed you over,” Regina continued. “I left you at her mercy in Wonderland and she made your life a living nightmare.”

Jefferson was so far unimpressed. “Yeah, and then you forced me to watch another family raise my daughter for another thirty goddamn years!”

Regina hung her head in shame. She turned and stared out the window at the town. “Yes, I did. I don’t just want to fix the things my mother broke. I want to undo the damage I’ve done too. So please know that I genuinely want to help you get back custody of Grace.”

Jefferson slowly released a breath, trying to stay cool and collected. “I’m sensing there’s a ‘but’ coming,” he said cynically.

Regina stiffened. Jefferson might be half-mad, but he wasn't stupid. She touched her hands to her desk to ground herself. “But,” she hated to say, “I know that what my mother and I did to you made you extremely unwell.”

Jefferson tightened his fists. Not this shit again. He sat down in the chair opposite her and buried his head in his hands. If he let himself implode, then he couldn’t explode. The appearance of stability. Stable. He knew that word was coming next. Regina walked around her desk and set her hand comfortingly on Jefferson’s shoulder. He flinched, but allowed it.

“I know you miss Grace,” she said. “It’s not right for you and her to still be separated after all this time. And I know it’s all my fault. Out of all the people I’ve hurt in my life, I think I’ve hurt you the worst. I know it means next to nothing, but for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

Jefferson sat up and looked at her with dead eyes. Regina withdrew her hand. Her apology was not accepted. She straightened her back, adjusted her blazer, and moved back behind her desk.

“But the fact of the matter is, you’re not currently able to give Grace a stable home environment in your condition,” Regina said matter-of-factly, seating herself.

There it was. It took all Jefferson’s willpower not to roll his eyes and leave. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of my own kid. Just because the Masons think she's better off with them does not make it true."

Regina fiddled with a pen on her desk. "I didn't just ruin your life when I left you in Wonderland. I also left Grace without a father. When I cast the curse, even though I intended it to hurt you - which it did - I did provide Grace with a loving family. Part of me is concerned that, because of what I did to her father, sending her back to him right now might not be what's best for her. I want to do right by _both_ of you. That means getting you well first."

"What gives you the right to decide what's best for our family?" Jefferson said, clutching the arms of his chair. He stared her down. Neither of them were going to break.

“Jefferson, I am paying for your therapy. I’m paying for your medicine. I forced the Masons to grant you visitation, which they were insistent against. I’m doing whatever I can to fix what I broke. And as soon as Dr. Hopper says you're ready, we will get the papers signed and you will have your daughter back," Regina told him. "But not until then.”

Jefferson glowered at her, struggling to bottle up his frustration. “How much longer am I supposed to wait? The curse broke three years ago!” he seethed. He slowed his breathing. He had to project stability, or he’d never get custody. “I’ve been in therapy for over a year,” he said much more calmly.

“And, from what I've heard, you’ve been making some excellent progress,” Regina said to placate him. “I’ve been in therapy too. I know from experience that there’s no set schedule for this kind of thing."

Jefferson stared at her, cocking his head to the side. "Were you in therapy for short-cycling bipolar disorder coupled with intermittent dissociative episodes brought about by post-traumatic stress?" he said with gritted teeth. Jefferson sounded each word out with perfection diction, just to hammer his point home.

Regina leaned back in her chair, the wind thoroughly knocked out of her. "No, I was not. I'm sorry. Dr. Hopper didn't mention any specifics about your..." Regina searched for right word to use. Anything that came to mind either sounded sugar-coated or offensive. "Any specifics," she repeated.

"He's not supposed to. Patient-doctor confidentiality," Jefferson stated with just a twinge of sarcasm. "It's not like he can really lose his license here though, can he?" He started to grind his teeth and chastised himself for it.

"Anyway, I'm glad to hear you've come such a long way, all things considered. It sounds like the medicine is working after all," Regina said. She was slightly aloof, trying to maintain power over the conversation. But that side of her was gone and her icy veneer quickly cracked. "I know it’s easy for me to tell you to be patient, especially when you're dealing with things I can't even begin to imagine, but that’s what you’ve got to do right now. For Grace.”

Her face was earnest but that provided no comfort to Jefferson. He stood up and put his coat back on. “She's turning fourteen in October, you know,” he said in frustration. “If I can’t get custody soon, I’m not going to have much of a daughter left to raise.”

After seeing the satisfyingly hollowed out look on Regina’s face, Jefferson buttoned his coat and left the office. He thought about saying it wasn't all her fault. He had a genetic predisposition to some of his symptoms, he had learned. But Jefferson liked the idea of Regina bearing the full burden of guilt. After all, she and her mother took great pains to make everything so much worse. She could make this all go away, but Regina clearly still thought he was an unfit parent, regardless of what the Masons had to say.

Jefferson mumbled profanities under his breath, all the way down the stairs to the lobby. As he exited city hall and got seated in his silver Mercedes Benz, Jefferson felt a buzz in his pocket. He fished his phone out and saw the caller. It was the Masons. “What the fuck do they want?” he grumbled. “As if this day couldn’t possibly get any worse. Hello?”

Mrs. Mason gently, almost fearfully, told Jefferson that someone had broken into his home. He thanked her for the information and told her he was on his way. Out of spite, he hung up without a goodbye. For a moment, Jefferson looked blankly out of his windshield, processing the news. “Motherf-!” he shouted, censoring himself. Thankfully, no one was around to hear him. He drove quickly back to his house, tightly gripping the steering wheel and cursing his luck all the way.

 

* * *

 

From a safe distance, Jim and his cohorts watched as loud sirens and flashing lights sped toward the mansion he robbed. The light and noise appeared to come from some strange-looking vehicles, confirmed when Jim saw people – apparently law enforcement – open the doors and get out. He could see a blonde woman in a red jacket and a few nondescript men start searching the area.

“We need to keep going,” Nadir whispered to him.

Jim kept staring down at the mess he had made. “Agreed,” he said, pulling himself away from the scene.

They quickly changed into their new outfits. Their ensembles were, admittedly, somewhat incomplete and ill-fitting. Jim was just slightly too thin and short. Nadir was too tall, the high-water pants showing off his ankles. Poor Darius was absolutely swimming in his disguise. They decided that Darius’s old pants would still work. Darius bunched up the fabric of his new shirt at the back to hide how roomy it was. Jim helped him roll up the sleeves.

Without any decent coats, Nadir tore off any regalia he could find on their naval jackets. Darius kept his jacket on, mainly to hide how poorly his button-up fit. Nadir, whose shirt fit him perfectly, handed his jacket to Jim. “You need it more than me,” he said.

Jim took it, supposing he should be grateful. “What about the coat I came with?”

“Leave it,” Nadir instructed. “Stash it somewhere no one will stumble across it.”

“Come on!” Jim protested, hugging the coat to his chest. “That’s my favorite coat!”

“Then you should have left it at home,” said Nadir. He yanked the coat from Jim’s hands and tossed it on the ground.

The pocket watch slid out of one of Jim’s pockets. Jim scrambled to pick it up and stuff it in the pocket of his new pants. Other things fell out too: a switch blade, a compass, the spyglass he had used earlier. Jim loaded them all into his pack.

“This coat has sentimental value. Plus, it has all my shit in it,” Jim told Nadir. He picked it up off the ground and carried it over his arm. “When we get near to town, I’ll hide it someplace safe.”

“You had better hide that ridiculous sword of yours too,” Nadir said. “I don’t know why you brought it with you in the first place.”

“Fine,” Jim agreed. “I’m sure as hell not leaving it behind.”

“Sentimental value?” asked Nadir, eyebrow raised.

Jim looked at the blade. It was a very ordinary instrument, a few hundred years in age. One might call it an antique, but that had no significance to Jim. “Of a sort,” Jim told him. That was all he said on that.

Jim took out the watch and listened for the ticking to intensify. Nadir peered over his shoulder. “What’s so special about that watch you keep looking at?”

Hastily covering the picture with his thumb, Jim explained. “It’s enchanted. The ticking is going to lead us right to Storybrooke.”

“How? The hands are broken!” asked Nadir. Jim deflected his question with a raised hand as the ticking started to grow louder.

Jim grinned. "Come on! This way!” he shouted, motioning for them to follow.

Jim broke into a mad dash, hopping over rocks and fallen branches. Darius started to run too, leaving poor Nadir in their dust. Jim ran faster and jumped further the harder the watch ticked. He dodged past tall dogwood trees and skidded down a slope that was mostly dirt and moss.

Then, without warning, the ticking stopped. Jim rose from the ground and found himself in another clearing. He looked around, wondering where he might have made a wrong turn. He nearly fell back down in shock when he saw it. Nadir and Darius caught up to Jim, who was staring mouth agape. They turned their heads to follow his gaze.

“Good God,” said Nadir, covering his mouth. Darius just looked on with a sort of morbid fascination.

It was the _Albatross_ , the airship taken over by the Black Coats. Or rather, it was what was left of it. The airship lied in pieces all over the clearing, some charred or battered beyond recognition. “What on earth happened to it?” Nadir asked, his voice a whisper of horror.

Darius charged forward. “I’ll find out!” he declared.

Jim tried to stop him, but Darius was too quick. “Darius, watch your step! There’s broken glass everywhere!” Jim warned him. He readied himself to rush in and pull the kid out of there.

Darius hopped through the minefield of shards to the main cabin of the ship, which was comparatively intact. He took out his detective’s kit and peered inside.

“Darius, what are you doing?” growled Nadir.

Darius looked back at them like he was the adult and they were children. “My job,” he told them, before entering the wreck.

Nadir shoved Jim forward. “Don’t just stand there! Get him out of there!” he ordered.

Jim tiptoed and maneuvered around the wreckage to the cabin door, only slightly afraid that it might collapse or explode at any second. Just as he was about to attempt a daring rescue, Darius reemerged with his notepad and his pencil behind his ear. Jim breathed a sigh of relief.

“Darius, get back here right now!” Nadir ordered. He was shaking, looking back and forth between the child and the smoldering ruin nearby. Jim saw his paralysis. He wasn’t just afraid for Darius. Nadir was shuddering thinking of what might have become of the people onboard, and the unbearable duty he might have to help them. His voice broke. “Wait. Tell me. Is anyone still alive?”

“I don’t know. No one’s in there,” Darius answered, skipping back over the ruins with Jim close by. Darius looked at his notes when he got to Nadir, a safe distance from the ship. “There was definitely some blood, a few days old by the look of it. Not enough for them to all be dead. Then again, that doesn’t consider death upon impact or, considering certain passengers, potential homicides.”

Darius said all of that far too detachedly for Jim’s comfort. Jim looked at Nadir. He seemed more composed knowing that the ship was empty. Darius continued on.

“There's damage to both engines and the main cabin, like something tried to slice the ship in half,” Darius explained, directing their attention to the center of the carnage. “If I had to guess, based on the pixie dust in the residue I found, something went wrong with the portal they flew through. There are footsteps in all directions from the crash site. We may have passed someone in the woods and not noticed.”

Nadir began to panic again, much more visibly this time. “Svengali,” he whispered. “He may have already seen us.” Nadir looked over his shoulder like a paranoiac, holding his right hand at the level of his eyes.

“Maybe,” said Darius. “More likely he infiltrated the town with the others.” Darius pointed his pencil toward a massive stampede of footprints leading from the _Albatross_ toward Storybrooke.

“I guess we follow the footprints,” said Jim, still astounded by Darius’s expert show of detective work.

He spotted a piece of paper lying on the ground. It was an informational brochure about the _Albatross_ , declaring the ship indestructible. Jim let out an empty laugh. “So much for the ‘Clipper of the Clouds’,” he thought to himself. He wadded up the brochure and tossed it over his shoulder.

The three of them followed the footsteps down a muddy, gradual downhill slope. Jim heard the ticking in his pocket get slightly louder, convincing him that this was the right path. Jim picked up a stick and began showing Darius how to cut branches apart with it. The trick was hitting the fork between the branches.

“I have a new plan,” Nadir stated. Jim and Darius turned around. “You’ll like it, Mr. Hawkins. You’ll get to keep your coat. The three of us will pose as passengers aboard the _Albatross_. We were thrown from the ship when it first exploded and broke our fall on some foliage. We found each other in the forest and got lost making our way into town. Are there any questions?”

“Where do you think the other passengers went?” asked Darius, still hacking thin branches in two.

Nadir didn’t look pleased that Jim was showing Darius yet another way to misbehave. “Wherever they are, we’ll need stealth and keen detective work to find them,” said Nadir, as the city came into view through the trees.

Jim craned his neck above the bushes and saw a large clearing ahead. He put his hand outstretched behind him to let the others know to slow down. Jim peered out from the behind a bush.

From his position at the edge of the woods, Jim could see a meadow full of flowers and lush grass. Wooden tables had been placed around it. A trail of smooth pavement ran all the way through. It seemed to be a park.

Jim heard laughter, which drew his attention to what looked like a small wooden castle sitting in a bed of tree bark. Beside it, a tall man was pushing a toddler on a swing set. A woman, likely his wife, sat on the ground nearby watching them.

“Not so high, David!” the woman said.

Whoever these people were, they were harmless. Jim ducked back behind the bushes. He held his chin between his thumb and forefinger, deep in thought. His thoughts did not take long to synthesize into a new plan of attack.

“Well?” asked Nadir. “What did you see?”

Jim sloughed off Nadir's navy jacket. He hastily put his old coat back on. “I also have a new plan!” Jim proclaimed. “Wait here.” Jim tossed Nadir his jacket and ran away into the park.

“What are you doing?” Nadir shouted after him, but Darius shushed him. They crouched behind the bushes to watch the impending disaster. “What an idiot.”

Jim sprinted out of the woods like he was being chased by some vicious monster. He deliberately slipped and fell, rolling to a stop in the grass. Breathing heavily, Jim waited for the couple with the child to take notice.

“Hello?” the man called out. “Are you all right over there?”

Perfect. Jim sat up, pretending to catch a breath that never had been lost. He looked around for the source of the sound, as if he didn’t know exactly where it came from. He saw the couple with their child and his eyes lit up with put-on hope.

“Oh, thank God! People!” Jim exclaimed, staggering to his feet. He rushed over to them, losing his balance on the way. “You have to help me!”

The woman stood up. She had a friendly face, with short black hair and an ivory complexion. “Hello there! What’s going on?” she asked. “Are you one of the people from Ingary?”

Jim nodded quickly. “I’ve been lost in the woods for days. Where are we? What is this place?”

The woman put her hand on Jim’s shoulder. “Take a deep breath. Everything’s going to be all right. You’re in Storybrooke.”

“Storybrooke? Where’s that? We had just left Kingsbury en route to Francia when I got thrown from the ship,” Jim lied. He was doing much better than his attempt at falsehood with Nemo. Then again, these people looked much more naïve.

The man and woman looked at each other. “The airship was hijacked, Mr...”

“Cassell,” Jim told them. “Philip Cassell.” It was his go-to alias and it served him well over the years.

“It’s nice to meet you, Philip,” the woman said warmly. “My name's Snow White. This is my husband David.”

So this was the famous Snow White. She was not like Jim anticipated, not dressed at all like a princess. David approached Jim and gave him a firm handshake. He was quite tall. Looking up, Jim also saw that he was quite handsome. He went the tiniest bit weak in the knees, but that might have been from all the running he’d been doing. Presumably, this was Prince Charming. Despite his peasant-like attire, he still lived up to the name.

“Welcome to Storybrooke, Philip,” said David. “Pleased to meet you.”

Jim flashed them a stretched-thin, overburdened smile. “It’s nice to see a friendly face. Where is everyone? Is anyone hurt?”

Snow pursed her lips, like she was debating how to break some unfortunate news. “Most of the passengers aboard the dirigible survived and they’re currently in town. Some of them were injured and were brought to the hospital. There were a few casualties. Was there anyone aboard with you?”

Jim nodded. “They’re fine. They’re still in the forest. I was supposed to scout ahead, make sure this place isn’t dangerous.”

Snow chuckled and put a reassuring hand on Jim’s shoulder. “I promise, Storybrooke is a very safe place.”

“Thank you. I can’t tell you what a relief it is to hear that,” Jim said as sincerely as he could. These were very nice people. He hated to lie to them. “Do you know how we all can get back to Ingary from here?”

Snow and David exchanged glances. “I’m afraid you’re nowhere near Ingary,” said David. “The man who hijacked the airship – Mr. Hyde – he steered it through a portal to another world. Getting you all back to Ingary is going to take some time and more than a little magic.”

Jim faked shock. “Another world? Magic?”

Snow guided Jim over to one of the tables scattered about where he could sit down. “I know it’s a lot to take in.”

Jim shrugged. “It does explain some strange things I’ve been seeing lately. What about Hyde? Where is he now?” His interest wasn't exaggerated. Jim wanted very much to know Hyde's whereabouts. He needed to avoid him at all costs.

“Prison,” said David, carrying his child. “You don’t need to worry about him. He’s not going anywhere anytime soon.”

That was wonderful news. A weight drifted off Jim's shoulders and his face formed a genuine smile of relief. He snapped back into interrogation mode. They weren’t done here yet.

Jim let his face fall. “Do you know why he brought us here?” he asked. He honestly didn’t know the answer. While they hadn’t known each other long, Jim knew Hyde to be highly secretive.

David sat down. He bounced the little boy upon his knee. “We don’t know. He’s not telling us anything. Hold on. I just got a text from Emma. She’s going to be late for dinner. There was break-in up on Carroll Street. I should probably go give her a hand.”

”That’s like the fifth robbery this week!” Snow said incredulously.

Jim froze. He started to sweat. These people were connected to law enforcement. He needed to get his information and get out. “So, what do we do now?” Jim inquired, making sure to seem desperate and defeated.

Snow escorted Jim out of the park toward Main Street. “If you keep walking down that street, on the left there's a reception at Granny’s Diner. Pretty much everyone who survived the crash has been through there. There’ll be food and first aid if you need it. Once you’ve had something to eat, they’ll figure out a place for you and your friends to stay.”

Food. Jim suddenly remembered that the last thing he ate was a single piece of toast early that morning. The journey through the portal didn’t allow it to stay in his stomach long. Not to mention, Jim had made no plans for lodgings. He fully expected to camp out in the woods.

“That’s wonderful! Thank you so much.” Jim hugged Snow, just to solidify his image as a poor, frightened man finally receiving aid.

Snow was surprised, but hugged him back. “You’re very welcome!” Snow said cheerily. Jim got up and dashed back to the forest. Snow called after him, “Welcome to Storybrooke!”

Jim quickly made his way back to Nadir and Darius, who were eagerly awaiting his return. “So, what did you learn?” Nadir asked impatiently.

Jim braced himself at the knees, starting to laugh. He fully caved and fell to the ground. In between breaths, he said, “It’s perfect! Hyde’s in prison. They’ve got food and shelter waiting for us. We just have to pretend we were on the _Albatross_ and we’re golden!”

Nadir and Darius turned to each other, puzzling out what to do. “Did you tell them we were with you?” asked Nadir anxiously, contemplating their options.

“I didn’t specify who or how many,” said Jim, getting up and dusting himself off.

Nadir began pacing. “That gives us options. If we go get food and shelter from them, we run the risk of being spotted.”

“No,” Jim corrected, “ _you_ run the risk of being spotted. The man you want just showed up here. If you go, he might see you. The one I’m after doesn’t even know what I look like. Plus, with Hyde locked up, nobody here knows who the hell I am.”

Nadir thought on this. “So, this is where we part ways then.”

“Hold on,” said Jim. “We can still do this as a team. It might even be better this way. You two can do reconnaissance from the outside. I’ll do it from the inside. We’ll meet here every day and give a full report.”

Darius stopped walking about. “So, does this mean you get a place to stay and we don’t?” he asked sadly.

Jim didn’t think about the implications of his plan. He couldn’t sleep comfortably in a bed knowing Darius was sleeping in the woods without easy access to food.

“Svengali doesn’t know Darius,” Nadir told him. “He should go with you.”

“Agreed,” Jim said without hesitation. “What about you?”

“Don’t worry about me,” Nadir said with a raised hand. “Go. I’ll be fine. I’ll see if I can make a shelter out of that ruined dirigible.”

Nadir knelt down next to Darius. He put his hands on the boy’s shoulders. “We’re going to split up now, boy. Mr. Hawkins is going to be your guardian for the time being. I trust that he will take excellent care of you. Remember everything I’ve taught you. Keep an eye out for Svengali. Record everything you find. And above all-”

Darius finished his sentence. “Keep my hand at the level of my eyes. I know.”

Nadir stood back up. There was a look of fear in his eyes, but also one of pride. Jim knew that look. It was the same look Jim’s mother gave him when he left home for Treasure Island. And Darius wanted to make Nadir proud more than anything.

“It’s getting late. Let’s get going,” Jim said to Darius. He turned back to Nadir. “We’ll be back tomorrow. I’ll bring you some food.”

Nadir didn’t say a word. He simply gave them a solemn nod before parting company. Jim guided Darius into the park. Darius was almost immediately overtaken by how beautiful it was.

“There’s so many flowers!” he exclaimed. “I’ve never seen anything like these before.”

Jim had to practically pull him away. “We’re coming back tomorrow to bring Nadir some breakfast. You can look at the flowers then.” Darius gave him a pathetically sad face. “All right, grab a couple and you can press them when we get to where we’re staying.”

Darius carefully selected a flower to take. It was like he was picking fruit at the market. “Where are we staying tonight?” he asked.

“I don’t know, but the people who do know are that way.” Jim pointed past the park fence to Main Street. “Let’s go before it gets dark.”

Jim and Darius took their first cautious steps into town. Jim looked at the people walking about. They definitely did not fit in with the townsfolk, but they weren’t getting any strange looks either. Jim looked back to where they came from. A sign read Storybrooke Heritage Park. No turning back now.

Darius continually got distracted by the new sights and sounds. Jim even had to guide him away from the storefront window of a place called Game of Thorns. Although, the inquisitive part of him also wanted to stop and look at the strangely constructed buildings, the oddly designed clothes, and the peculiar wheeled vehicles parked on the street.

Nothing about Storybrooke was anything like Jim had expected. Wasn’t this the land where fairy tales came to life? He had pictured castles and horse-drawn carriages, a new world of fantasy and high adventure. This was not like that at all. It wasn’t really like anything.

From the inside of the house Jim burglarized to the underwhelming appearance of the legendary Snow White, Storybrooke lived at a strange intersection of the mundane and the bizarre. Why would a pirate live here of all places? Jim would have to ask before he asked for his final words.

On their way down the street, Jim spotted a tavern on the opposite side of the road called The Rabbit Hole. It was comforting to know that, even in a place like Storybrooke, Jim still knew a bar when he saw one. It would be the perfect place to begin an investigation. More importantly, Jim really needed a drink.

Finally, Jim saw the red neon sign. Granny’s Diner. It was a cozy little establishment, a bit too cozy to accommodate every passenger aboard the _Albatross_.

“This must be the place,” Jim said. They crossed the street, making sure not to get hit by one of those metal monstrosities. When they got to the front porch, Jim crouched to Darius’s level. “This is our story, so listen good. We’re brothers. We fell from the ship, got lost, and that’s why we’re a few days late.”

Darius squinted at Jim. “Aren’t you a little old to be my brother? And a little...” Darius gestured to Jim’s face and then to his own. It was true. Darius was significantly darker than Jim. Any family resemblance was questionable at best.

“Oh, so now I'm old? Fine. We’re cousins. My dad had kids sooner than your dad and you were adopted. Clear?” Jim asked.

“Got it,” Darius confirmed, somewhat disgruntled. “Why do I have to be the adopted one?”

“All right! If anyone asks, I’m the adopted one.” Jim reached for the door, but stopped. “Also, I told the couple at the park that my name is Philip Cassell.”

“Why?” Darius asked.

Jim didn’t really have an answer. He was always used to providing aliases and alibis. “Standard procedure. So, when we’re around other people, you need to call me Philip. Or Phil, I guess. You can still go by Darius if you want, but if anyone asks you for your last name, you need to tell them it’s Cassell.”

Darius put his hands on his hips. “Do I look like a Cassell to you?”

“Argh,” Jim huffed, frustrated. “My father and your mother are siblings. Her maiden name is Cassell. You can use your own last name. Are we good?”

Darius gave a little nod. “We’re good.”

“Good. Let’s get something to eat.” Jim took a deep breath and opened the door to Granny’s Diner.

A bell rang above the door, taking them by surprise. At the sound of the bell, their ruse began. Inside, there were definitely some folks from Ingary mingling with the Storybrooke crowd. Jim could tell by all the bodices and swallowtail coats. Blending in was going to be a breeze.

A vivacious woman with a statuesque figure named Ruby brought them to an empty table. A lot of the food sounded foreign to Jim and he had enough adventures for one day. He ordered a simple bowl of chicken soup. Meanwhile, Darius got a grilled cheese sandwich. When Ruby came to take their dishes, Jim reached for the money he had taken.

“Don’t worry about it,” Ruby told him with a smile. “Food and rooms are complementary for folks from Ingary.” Seeing Jim’s bewildered expression, she added, “It’s the least we can do after what happened.”   

Ruby introduced Jim and Darius to her grandmother, a squat, cross-looking woman who insisted on being called Granny. She took the two of them from Granny's Diner through a hallway to Granny's Bed and Breakfast, an adjacent building.

“The inn's never had this much business,” said Granny, fiddling with a ring of keys. “It's not our main source of income, otherwise we'd be charging rest. We'd hate to do that to you folks after everything you've been through already. You're in luck. There’s one room left. Unfortunately, there’s only one bed and it’s a twin.”

Granny opened the door for them. Jim quickly learned that “twin” meant "practically two-dimensional". “I guess I’m sleeping on the floor then.”

Granny put a room key in Jim’s hand. “I’ll send someone up with extra blankets.” She patted him on the shoulder and went back downstairs.

Shortly after, a girl in a blue-checked blouse named Dorothy brought Jim a spare pillow and a comforter he could use as a sleeping bag. She also left a bag with a drawstring for laundry. It was much appreciated. All of their clothes were filthy. Jim thought about tipping her, but she might wonder where he got the money.

Darius and Jim took turns in the bathroom, getting the day’s grime off themselves. Jim redressed in his stolen shirt, which at least smelled better than his old one.

“It’s a good thing the guy who owns these likes silk shirts,” said Jim, settling in. “My other clothes would be pretty uncomfortable to sleep in.”

“Not to mention, they stink,” Darius added dryly. He was already busy pressing his flowers inside an impressively large dictionary he found on the bookcase.

Jim looked at the selection. There was a novel by someone named Stephen King, something by Nora Roberts, and a visitor's guide to Storybrooke. Jim might make use of that later.

As he waited for the flowers to sufficiently flatten, Darius observed Jim unpacking his things. Jim had his stolen clothes and a few practical supplies. He also had a concerning number of weapons. In addition to his cutlass, Jim also brought along a revolver, a dart gun, and several knives - things that would be dangerous around a kid less savvy than Darius.

“Why do you have all those weapons?” Darius asked uneasily.

Jim didn’t look up. “They’re standard equipment for a pirate hunter.”

Darius found his explanation suspect. He sat quietly thinking before asking, “Jim, why did you want to come along with us? What’s really the deal with this pirate you’re after?”

Jim paused and looked at himself in the mirror. Darius was just a kid. He could not tell him the truth. “It’s like I told you," Jim said. "There’s a big bounty on his head. I’m here to claim it.”

“Must be. You’re going to an awful lot of trouble to get it,” Darius said.

Jim put his toys away. He could tell they were making Darius upset. “Nadir’s going to a lot of trouble to get this Svengali guy. What’s the story there?”

“He won’t tell me the details, just that they have a history. It made me wonder if you had a history with this pirate of yours.” Darius was smart, much smarter than Jim at his age. Jim didn’t want to insult his intelligence by lying to him.

“I won’t give you all the details,” Jim began, “but you’re right. I do have a history with him. A long time ago, the man I’m after killed a friend of mine. I keep his picture inside my watch.” Jim showed him the little picture. “See? We went to naval school together.”

Darius’s attention was caught by the crocodile on the front. Then he looked at the image of the man inside. The watch was ticking at a normal pace, no cause for alarm. “He seems nice,” said Darius.

Jim’s eyes got the slightest bit misty. “He was.” Jim tried not to get too emotional.

“What was his name?” Darius asked, handing the watch back to Jim.

Jim took it and looked at the portrait. The young man was still smiling back at him from inside the watch’s cover. “His name was Killian,” Jim said sadly. "Killian Jones."

“And the guy who killed him?" asked Darius. "You never mentioned his name.”

Jim shut the watch and stowed it away in the pocket of his coat. He returned to polishing his cutlass, the only weapon still out on the table. “Killian was murdered by a man named Captain Hook. He's the one I'm after.”

Darius looked at Jim’s eyes in the mirror. They were not happy. “And what’ll you do when you find him?”

Jim inspected his cutlass with a steely eye. “The same thing I do with every pirate. Bring him to justice.” With that, Jim sheathed the cutlass again and sat it against the wall.

“A pirate hunter is just like a detective, kid,” Jim assured the boy, settling down in his makeshift bedding. “Just with more boats. Now, it’s been a very long day. Get the lights and let’s get some sleep.”

Darius didn’t look completely convinced, but they tucked into their beds nevertheless. Darius fell asleep quickly. Jim could tell by his snores. Jim didn’t fall asleep right away through. In the stillness of their mostly quiet room, Jim could still hear it.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Hook was near and, in the corner, Jim’s cutlass was waiting. “Tick-tock, Hook. Tick. Tock.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always felt like Jefferson’s story was unfinished. It always struck me odd that he got his happy ending, without ever addressing his mental health and how that might impact his relationship with Grace. I thought it would do him more justice to explore that, and the challenges he still might face.


	3. The Storybrooke Burglar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim and Darius investigate a series of robberies. They learn that the Invisible Man is the culprit when he attacks Snow White and David.

_"The next thing I know, I'm sipping hot chocolate and telling my troubles to Paul, whose tender brown eyes kept sending compassionate looks. A trip to the library has made a new girl of me for suddenly I can see the magic of books!"_ \- "A Trip to the Library", _She Loves Me_

* * *

Jim checked the wall clock for the sixth time in an hour. He quit caring about the ticking of his own broken watch. He just wanted to know how long he’d been lying there in the dark, awake. If the clock was accurate, it wasn’t even midnight yet.

It wasn’t the ticking or Darius’s snores keeping Jim up. It was the knowledge of Hook’s proximity. A quest that spanned lifetimes was finally coming to an end. The thought was thrilling and terrifying, leaving an uneasy feeling in Jim’s gut that kept him from slumber.

Growing bored, Jim sat up. Darius was still out like a light. Surely he wouldn’t mind if Jim stepped out for a bit. A walk around the block might clear Jim’s head enough to let him sleep. Still, he should probably leave a note in case the kid woke up.

_Went for a walk. Be back soon. – Jim_

Jim scribbled that onto a page from Darius’s notebook and left it on the desk. He grabbed his coat and his room key and quietly exited the building.

Outside, the night air was cool and refreshing. Jim knew that feeling well. Every town he passed through between forest and ocean had it. It was always best at night.

Jim walked down the street from Granny’s, back in the direction of the park. He looked at all the closed shops. Some were familiar, others strange. One store was selling thin black rectangles like the one Jim saw in the mansion. He’d have to ask about those.

Walking further, Jim caught sight of a hanging sign bearing the image of a white rabbit. The Rabbit Hole! It was the bar Jim made a mental note to visit. It was also the only establishment still open at this hour. He had money, probably enough to buy himself a drink. It wasn’t the best insomnia cure, but it was a good enough excuse to stop in for a pint.

Inside, the atmosphere provided a comfortable familiarity. It had the odd Storybrooke aesthetic, but the dim lighting and dull roar of alcohol-assisted conversation welcomed him in. There didn’t appear to be any Ingary folk in the room. The bar must not have been offering any free booze to the survivors of the crash. Too bad. They could use it.

Jim pushed his way through the crowd to the bar. The bartender was aggressively wiping down the counter, facing away from Jim. He was chatting up a petite blonde waitress, who looked less than happy about the topic at hand. She glanced over at Jim as he approached.

“So she tells me the same old bullshit she’s been saying since the curse broke,” the bartender said, frustrated. He added a feminine affectation to his voice. “You’re not well. You need to get better before…”

The waitress pointed in Jim’s direction. “You’ve got a customer. Think happy thoughts!” The woman scampered away, not before giving Jim a welcoming smile.

Jim looked back to the bar. Around spun one of the most beautiful men Jim had ever laid eyes on. He wore a snugly fitting waistcoat. His sleeves were rolled up, exposing his forearms. He had the perfect amount of stubble on his face. It was like the air had been sucked out of the room.

“Hi there. What can get you?” the bartender asked with a smile. The smile was a bit phony, but it was forgivable. His previous conversation sounded less than pleasant. It was charming all the same, charming enough that Jim somehow couldn’t say anything in response. “Can I get you something to drink, sir?” the man enunciated.

“Sorry! Lost in thought.” Jim shook his head to clear the fog clouding his mind. He sat down at the bar and glanced at the menu. The selection left him utterly flummoxed. “You got anything that makes for a good nightcap?” he asked. “It’s been a rough day.”

“I could fix you a glass of warm milk,” the bartender joked, “but I’m guessing you’re looking for something a little stronger.”

Jim laughed and nodded. “Much stronger.”

“I can add some Kahlua and vodka to it, make you a Hot White Russian,” the man suggested. He might as well have been speaking Russian for all Jim understood.

“Got any rum?” Jim asked, hoping for something simple and familiar. The bartender pulled out a large bottle with a pirate pictured on the front. Jim noticeably grimaced. Were pirates going to plague him forever?

The bartender began to put it back. “So, that’s a no on the Captain Morgan?”

“No, no. It’s fine. Sounds perfect,” Jim stammered.

The bartender fixed Jim his drink and set it down on the counter. The glass was so small, it might as well have been a thimble. “How much for the bottle?” Jim asked.

“Must have been a really rough day. Forty dollars for the bottle,” the man told him, crossing his arms. “Next time you’re in, just ask for the Jolly Roger. We'll know what you mean.”

 _The Jolly Roger_? That was the name of Hook’s ship. Did this man know where to find Hook? If Jim played his cards right, finding his foe might be as simple as asking a stranger for directions.

The bartender looked him up and down and said, “You’re one of the people from Ingary, right?”

“Is it the outfit?” Jim asked with a pathetic half-smile.

The other man chuckled. “We don’t get a lot of new faces in here,” he said knowingly. “Tell you what. You’re new in town. The first drink is on me.” He opened the bottle and filled another glass.

Jim was stunned. People in Storybrooke were so generous. “Really?” Jim asked, pleasantly surprised.

“Yep, provided I can help myself. My day hasn’t gone exactly according to plan either.” The bartender took the glass and downed it with one gulp.

“Why? What happened?” Jim asked, taking a swig from the bottle.

“For starters, somebody broke into my house this afternoon,” the man said, slamming his glass on the counter. “That can really ruin your whole day.”

Jim choked on his drink. This was the guy he robbed? Jim pounded his chest, trying to get the rum down the right tube.

“You all right?” the man asked, concerned.

Jim nodded. He also discretely began buttoning his jacket. He was still wearing the man’s clothes. And he was about to pay him with his own money!

“Did they take anything?” Jim asked, marinating in guilt and shame.

The man shrugged. “Just some cash off my dresser, plus a few shirts and pants.”

“Weird things to steal,” Jim said nervously, taking another drink. At least he didn’t seem put out by what he lost. Jim would have run for the door if not for Hook.

“Yeah, not to mention they were some of my favorite shirts.” The bartender took the bottle and poured himself a second shot. “I really shouldn’t be drinking on the job. Or on my medication.”

He downed the second drink as quickly as the first, then passed the bottle back to Jim. As if Jim didn’t feel bad enough. So much for sleeping tonight.

“It’s odd,” said the bartender, leaning against the counter. “Ever since that blimp crashed out in the woods, there’s been this string of robberies. Hardly anything ever gets taken. No one knows who’s been doing it or why. It’s the damnedest thing.”

Robberies. This could be a lead on Svengali, or one of his associates. Maybe he could work Hook into the conversation too. Jim had to think fast, which was not his strong suit under the influence.

“As it so happens, back in Ingary, I work as a detective. I might be able to help you track down this thief of yours.” The painful irony that the man’s thief was staring him in the face was not lost on Jim. “Would you mind answering a few questions for me?”

The man looked at the other customers milling about the bar. “Now’s not really the best time,” he said. “We’re going to be closing up here soon. However, if you swing by tomorrow before we open, we can probably talk then. I’m working an early shift. I’ll be here around noon.”

“All right!” Jim said with enthusiasm. He stood up from his bar stool with too much confidence and stumbled around a bit. After finding his equilibrium, he added, “I will see you tomorrow.”

Jim took his bottle and started heading for the door. He couldn’t stay any longer. He was dangerously close to drunk right next to the man whose home he invaded. Between the alcohol and the man’s beguiling countenance, Jim was bound to say something he’d regret.

“Hey!” the bartender called. “Can I get your name?”

Jim turned back around. The man had stepped out from behind the bar and was right in front of Jim. A distance this close usually led to either a night of anonymous passion or a brutal bar fight. Sometimes both. Adrenaline began mixing with the alcohol in his blood. Jim drew a complete blank.

He had given his alias out to multiple people that day. Why was he forgetting it now? Fucking rum, that’s why. Rum and general anxiety. Rum, anxiety, and a tuft of brown wavy hair that stuck to the bartender’s forehead with sweat. Jim could barely remember his own name at the moment. Instead, he said the first thing that came to mind.

“Killian! The name’s Killian!” he blurted. He instantly regretted it.

“Jefferson,” the man returned, offering his hand to shake. “Friends call me Jeff.”

Jefferson. What an interesting name. Jim shook his hand. Jefferson had very soft hands. They made the fabric of his shirts feel like burlap.

“Nice to meet you, Jefferson,” said Jim, releasing his hand quickly. Jim backed away toward the door. “And thanks for the, uh, libations.” He lifted up the bottle, internally chiding himself for how stupid that sounded.

Jefferson laughed. “Just don’t tell my boss,” he said with a grin. Jefferson turned and walked back behind the bar. Jim stayed just long enough to watch him walk away. He could have sworn Jefferson winked at him on his way out.

Had Jefferson been flirting with him? No, that was just wishful thinking. Although, Jefferson did technically buy him a drink. A very large drink. Jim banished that thought from his mind. It was a distraction. Even if this was a world where that sort of thing was acceptable, this was not the time or place.

Jim walked back home to Granny’s in a bit of a daze. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so simultaneously enchanted and mortified. Other sailors had described to him their experience under the thrall of sirens. The creatures’ illusions had never worked on Jim for some reason. He guessed this must be what it felt like. A piece of your soul screams in terror while the rest of you can’t look away.

The florid language running through his brain was beginning to make Jim sick. Actually, it might have just been the rum. Either way, Jim was now acutely aware of how long it had been since he last had been with a man. He was fawning over a bartender, for God’s sake. Granted, it wouldn’t have been the first time.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have broken things off with Dorian,” Jim mumbled as he fumbled with his room key.

Jim quietly opened their door at the inn. Darius was still fast asleep. Good. Jim slipped off his coat, set the rum on the table, and got settled in his makeshift bedding. As he shifted around to get comfortable, he felt the fabric of Jefferson’s shirt brush against his skin.

The guilt resurfaced, oddly intermingled with the amorous feelings he’d been having during their talk. Faced with the choice of lying awake punishing himself for stealing from a charming, generous man or falling asleep imagining himself in the arms of a handsome stranger, Jim picked the latter.

Jefferson. It really was quite a nice name. Jim began drifting off to sleep. The tick-tock of the clock became a metronome, keeping time to the music of Jim’s dreams. He slept very well that night.

In the morning, Darius was up before Jim was. When Jim finally came to, Darius was seated at the table examining how well his flowers had pressed. Jim groaned and rubbed his head. A hangover? Really? "When did I become such a lightweight?" Jim thought.

“About time you woke up,” Darius scolded him.

Jim was so not in the mood. “Great, he’s a morning person,” he said sarcastically, falling back onto his bedding.

“Where were you last night?” Darius asked.

“Didn’t you see my note?” Jim pointed to the table next to Darius. “I was taking a walk.”

Dorian cocked an eyebrow. “A walk to get rum?”

There was no winning with this kid. Jim dizzily hauled himself out of bed. “It started out as just a walk.” He stretched out his back and arms.

“Did you at least pay for it?” Darius asked, sounding already tired of the conversation.

“Actually, it was a gift,” Jim was proud to say.

“Really?” said Darius suspiciously.

“Yes. Last night, I dropped by the tavern and the bartender gave it to me for free,” Jim explained. “Sort of a ‘welcome to the neighborhood’ present.”

He began mixing and matching his old and new clothes to make a relatively clean disguise. He made sure to wear his own shirt. He stuffed the rest in the laundry bag.

Darius placed his flowers back between the dictionary pages to press them some more. “Sure he did.”

“You can ask him yourself. We’re going back after breakfast today. He’s our first lead on the Svengali case and he might even know where Hook is hiding out.” Jim paused to think it through. “Actually, you will not ask him yourself because he also happens to be the guy we robbed yesterday.”

“The guy _you_ robbed yesterday,” Darius corrected.

Jim massaged his temples. “I feel bad enough about taking free liquor from a guy I already stole from. Can we please just get something to eat?”

After they changed and washed up, Jim and Darius headed down to the restaurant for an exotic dish Granny called waffles. She even made Darius’s with chocolate chips. As Darius happily chowed down, Jim noticed some adjacent diners abandon their seats. They left behind a copy of _The Daily Mirror_. Jim snatched it and began reading.

“Darius, look! This is the lead I was talking about!” Jim lifted up the paper and pointed to the front page. “Read it.”

Through a mouth full of waffle, Darius read, “Serial Burglar Strikes School. What’s so special about that?”

Jim leaned in and said, “The burglaries didn’t start until the _Albatross_ went down.” He sat back and watched the wheels turn in Darius’s brilliant little head.

“That means the thief was someone on the ship,” he deduced. “If they’re a criminal that was on the ship, they have to be working with Svengali and Hyde!” Darius gasped. He started getting antsy. “They’re making this too easy. Come on! Let’s go talk to that guy from the bar!”

Jim knew it was time to go into “parent mode”, something that never came naturally. “Darius, I’m pretty sure Nadir would want you to finish your breakfast first,” he said in that specific tone adults reserve for misbehaving children.

“Come on, Jim!” Darius pleaded.

Jim took a cleansing breath. “Let me put it differently. I’m pretty sure Nadir will have my ass if I don’t make sure you eat. So eat.”

Darius and Jim finished about half of their meals, which was substantial considering the portions. Ruby brought them a box for their leftovers. They were planning on taking them to Nadir, who was probably starving out in the woods. Ruby jokingly ruffled Darius’s hair on her way back to the kitchen.

“I like her,” Darius said as she left. “She’s pretty.”

Jim never really payed attention to feminine beauty. He looked over at Ruby, who stopped to talk to that Dorothy girl. She was very beautiful. Jim could identify that. She was also showing a lot of leg. How old was Darius again? Eleven? Twelve, maybe?

Oh, no. Not happening. Jim was no longer in parent mode. As Darius packed up his detective’s tools, Jim began to pray. “Dear God in heaven,” he thought to himself. “I know we don’t talk much, but please let this mission be over before I have to give this kid ‘the talk.’”

The two of them left Granny’s and walked down Main Street to the Rabbit Hole. The streets were bustling again. Once again, they had to watch out for those rolling metal contraptions – cars, Jim heard they were called. When they got to the bar, all the lights were dark.

“Maybe we’re too early,” Darius said. “We could bring Nadir his food and come back later.”

“That would be too easy,” Jim replied. He banged on the heavy wooden door.

From inside the building, they could hear a woman shout, “Read the sign! We’re closed!”

Undeterred, Jim knocked again. The woman huffed and stomped over to the door. “Can I help you?” she asked with a forced smile. It was the waitress who was talking to Jefferson last night. She was holding a broom, apparently in the middle of some intense cleaning.

“Is Jefferson here?” Jim asked pleasantly, his smile just as forced.

“Who’s asking?” said the waitress, narrowing her eyes.

Jim started to say his own name, then remembered his alias. Then he remembered that he had forgotten his alias and given Jefferson a different name instead.

“Uh, Killian? I was here last night,” Jim told her. Darius looked at him funny, but went along with it.

The woman relaxed a bit. “Yeah, I remember you. You ordered the Jolly Roger. You finish it already? Alcoholics Anonymous is open and they’re right down the road,” she teased.

Jim wasn’t amused. “Can we come in, please?” he asked, growing tired of this exchange.

The woman popped the gum she was chewing. “You can. He can’t.” She pointed at Darius.

Darius straightened his spine indignantly. “Why not?” he protested.

“Rules are rules, kiddo. You gotta be twenty-one and I don’t want to be the reason we lose our liquor license,” the waitress explained, leaning on her broom. “What do you want with Jefferson, anyway? Did you lose his number?”

Jim would have blushed bright red if he had any idea what she meant. “We’re detectives. We have some questions for him about the recent string of burglaries in town. Until this morning, he was the most recent victim.” Jim held up the newspaper.

“Can I see a badge or some kind of ID?” the woman inquired. She was smart. Time for Jim to stretch his duplicity muscles.

“We would show you, but our papers got lost when the _Albatross_ crashed,” Jim explained. “We’re from Ingary.”

Darius lifted up his briefcase. “I can show you my detective kit!” he said, in the same way one might offer to show someone their bug collection. The woman was amused, but not enough to let them inside.

Jim was about to get impatient with her when another, taller shadow joined his on the wall. “Izzy, quit playing games and just let them in,” said a familiar voice.

Jim turned around. It was Jefferson, looking quite stylish in a charcoal-colored coat and scarf. His brow was furrowed and his mouth was a flat line. He wasn’t particularly incensed, but Jim still had the impression he ought to avoid getting on his bad side. Although, there was a dark part of Jim that wanted to see what that looked like.

“The kid too?” Izzy asked, pointing at Darius with her thumb.

Darius’s fists were clenched tight as he tried to keep a professional demeanor. Jim knew what was going through his mind. He hadn’t been a child for a very, very long time, but he knew how aggravating it was when adults talked about you as if you weren’t even there.

“He’s a detective, isn’t he?” said Jefferson, gesturing to Darius's briefcase. Darius’s face lit up at that.

Izzy got out of the way. “Fine, but it was your call,” she told Jefferson. She opened the door wide for them all to come in. Jefferson ushered Jim and Darius into the building and shut the door. Izzy resumed sweeping the floor in the far end of the tavern.

“Don’t worry about Isabelle,” Jefferson told them. “She’s not a much of a morning person. Working an opening shift right after a closing shift tends to make her cranky.”

Jefferson removed his coat and hung it on a rack near the door. Underneath, Jefferson was wearing another luxuriously patterned shirt and a vest that hugged him too closely to be legal. “You didn’t mention you had a partner,” he said, referring to Darius.

Jim put his arm around Darius’s shoulder. “Oh, yeah. This is my cousin, Darius. We’re kind of a team.”

Jefferson looked carefully at the two of them. They knew what he was thinking. They did not look remotely like cousins.

“He’s adopted,” they said in unison.

Jim grabbed Darius’s shoulder just a little bit tighter. He forced a laugh. “Very funny, Dar. He’s a real kidder, this one. But he’s also the brains of the outfit, so I’m lucky to have him around.”

He patted Darius on the back. Being hailed as the smart one seemed to placate Darius enough to also be the adopted one. Jefferson guided them over to a booth where they could sit and begin their interview.

“So, I hear you gentlemen have some questions for me,” Jefferson began, placing his hands folded on the table. This was going to be a challenge. Jim knew from past experience that it's difficult to extract information from someone when you're busy getting lost in their eyes.

Darius took out his notepad. “Yes, we do. J- _Killian_ informed me that you were the most recent victim in this burglary case. Is that correct?”

Thank goodness for Darius. He could stay professional even when the typically unwavering Jim was compromised.

However, if Darius was going to conduct the interview and make it all about Jim’s own regrettable actions, Jim could not imagine a worse kind of hell. Jefferson recounted every painful aspect of the incident: the forced entry into his room, the strange choice of stolen items, and the forensic evidence that the Sheriff’s department managed to find.

“Forensic evidence?” Jim repeated, trying to hide the alarm in his voice.

“I just got the call this morning. The fingerprints they found don’t match the prints at the other crime scenes. The method of entry doesn’t match either. Whoever this guy is, I don’t think he's working alone,” Jefferson told them.

This was Jim’s chance to move on to a new topic. “That’s what we’ve been thinking too. Our belief is that the burglar might be in league with Edward Hyde, who's currently locked up in the town jail.”

“Oh, there's no jail in Storybrooke,” Jefferson said with a slight laugh. “If Hyde’s locked up, he’s gotta be in the hospital psych ward.”

Jim and Darius glanced at each other nervously. “Psych as in...” Jim asked, hoping for the best.

“Psychiatric,” Jefferson clarified.

“Is that anything like an insane asylum?” Jim asked, fearing the worst.

Jefferson froze for a moment. He stared into the middle distance, as if he was in another place and time. The look in his eyes was eerie, the smoulder in them completely extinguished. Darius coughed to bring his attention back to the task at hand.

“I’m sorry. What was the question?” asked Jefferson, blinking and fidgeting in his seat.

Darius asked the question this time. “Is a psych ward comparable to an insane asylum?”

Jefferson's mouth cycled through a view different shapes as he searched for the right words. “It is the closest modern analogue,” he said finally.

Something about the topic was discomforting to Jefferson. Jim wasn’t going to press it. The news about Hyde was too urgent anyway. He pounded his fist on the table. “Those idiots! Hyde used to run an asylum!" he said to Darius. "It’s only a matter of time before he escapes!”

“Then you should probably go warn the Sheriff,” Jefferson suggested.

Jim began to stand up, but Darius held onto his coat. “We will,” said Darius, keeping his cool. Jim sat back down. “But first, back to Hyde’s potential associates. I’m going to write a name on this paper. Please tell me if you’ve seen or heard of them.”

Darius scribbled something onto a scrap of paper. Svengali. He slid it over to Jefferson. “Don’t say the name,” he instructed.

Jefferson took a second to decipher Darius's penmanship. “I don’t know anyone by that name,” said Jefferson, perplexed. “Who are they?”

“We think he may be working with the guy who robbed you, the same one who broke into the school last night,” Jim answered.

“What? Which school?” Jefferson asked in alarm. He wasn’t in his own little world anymore. He was very present. Odd, seeing as the man barely gave a damn about his own stolen property.

“Storybrooke Elementary,” said Jim, passing Jefferson his copy of _The Daily Mirror._

Jefferson read the article. “Oh,” he said, calming down. “That’s... that’s too bad. Is the middle school all right? Is it safe for students?”

“They didn’t say. We were going there next to find out.” Jim got up from his seat, followed by Darius. “Sorry to take up so much of your time. Let us know if anything more develops. We’ll be around.”

"Let me know what you find out about the school," Jefferson asked, standing back up. He immediately pivoted, seemingly to distract from his own request. "You know who you ought to talk to? Belle French. She's works over at the library. A few nights ago, the place got completely ransacked and she's still cleaning up the mess. She might have more answers for you than I do."

"Thank you! That's a great lead. Darius, write that-" Jim turned to Darius, who was already jotting down notes.

"And where is the library exactly?" Darius asked, not looking up.

Jefferson directed with his hands. Only Jim paid attention. "Head out that door, take a left down Main Street, and walk until you see a big clock tower. It's right underneath it," Jefferson told them.

"Great! Thank you so much!" Jim started for the door, but then he remembered. “Oh! There is one other question you might be able to answer for me. Do you know if anyone by the name of Captain Hook has been around here lately? I only ask 'cause you've got a drink here called the Jolly Roger.” Jim chuckled dryly.

Jefferson, seeming to sense Jim's mock-casualness, withdrew a bit. He was trying to get a read of something. Jim pretended not to notice. “I don’t know. Who is he?” Jefferson asked.

Jim, once again, lied through his teeth. “He’s an old friend of mine. We haven’t seen each other in years. I heard he settled down in a town a lot like this one, so I thought I might ask. It would be nice to say hi if he’s in the area.”

Jefferson’s face was unreadable. “What does he look like?” Jefferson queried. His posture and tone gave Jim the feeling that he was the unwelcome recipient of some kind of verbal exam. Wasn't Jefferson the one being interrogated?

“He has a hook for a hand,” Jim answered, trying not to sound sarcastic. “Dark hair, beard, unusual sense of fashion.” Jim didn't get any more specific, because he had no more specifics to give.

“Oh, yeah. I think he passed through a few months back,” Jefferson appeared to recall. “Interesting guy. Definitely liked his rum. Not sure where he is now though.”

Jim did his best to hide his frustration. “That’s all right. Thanks again for suffering through all of our questions. It was a big help. Come on, Dar. Let’s get a move on.”

Jim and Darius quickly made their way to the door. They were almost out when Jefferson said, “You know, if I do see him, I’d be happy to let him know you're in town.” Jim turned back around. “Can I get your name?”

“Killian,” Jim told him for the second time.

“Your full name,” Jefferson clarified.

Jim hesitated. “Jones. Killian Jones.”

Jefferson took a second to respond as well. “Uh-huh. All right, _Killian Jones_. If he drops by, I’ll let him know you're here.”

Jefferson smiled and gave them a little wave as they left. As the door shut, Jim caught a glimpse of him reaching into his left pocket for something. Jim thought nothing of it, but he really should have.

 

* * *

 

Somewhere outside of Storybrooke, another man going by Killian Jones was getting a phone call. The phone’s ring reverberated throughout the gorge he and his not-quite-stepson Henry Mills were traversing. Killian reached for it, first with his hook, and then with his remaining hand.

He looked at the caller ID. “Jefferson? What the hell does he want?” Killian answered the phone. “What is it, mate? The boy and I are on a hiking trip. Emma insisted on a ‘no phones’ policy and my battery’s on its last legs.”

“You might actually want to consider laying low out there for a while,” Jefferson hesitantly advised.

“Why’s that?” asked Killian, immediately unnerved. Jefferson had barely opened his mouth and he already managed to creep him out.

Jefferson continued. “You remember that blimp that crashed about a week ago? It had all those people from Ingary on it?”

Killian had a front-row seat to the Albatross’s demise. The sparks and smoke from the flying machine were transfixing. At the time, none of it felt real. At least, until the damned thing exploded and crashed to the ground.

“How could I forget?” Killian asked. "What about it?"

“One of the passengers came into the bar today. He was asking about you,” Jefferson said. His inflection implied something ominous.

“Hook, are you coming?” called Henry from farther along the path.

“Be right there!” Hook answered back. He spoke into the phone again. “Me? I don’t know anyone from Ingary, at least not any that are still alive.” Hook looked into the gorge. Between his fear of heights and the sudden news from Jefferson, this was not a great moment for him.

Jefferson was only going to keep making it worse. “Well, this guy knew you. He said you were old friends. I nearly believed him, but... It was so weird.”

“What? Spit it out, man!” Hook said impatiently, not at all prepared for the next development.

Jefferson’s nervous inhale was audible through the phone. “He asked for Captain Hook, then said his name was Killian Jones.”

Hook felt all of his limbs stiffen. His jaw went slightly slack. “That’s… odd. Does he not know we’re the same person?”

Hook stared off across the gorge toward a roaring waterfall. Henry was still heading down the trail by himself. Hook started walking again. He couldn’t let Henry get too far out of sight. If something were to happen, Emma would kill him. Again.

“Apparently not,” said Jefferson. “Listen, I’ve got to go. We’re opening soon. I just thought you should know about it. This guy seems like real bad news. He’s traveling with this kid who says he’s his cousin but he’s definitely not. Anyway, when you get back to town, watch your back.”

Hook sighed and massaged his eyes. This left smudges of eyeliner on his fingertips. “Thanks for the warning, mate. I’ll be careful. See you-” Then Hook’s battery died. “Aw, bloody hell.”

He stuffed the dead phone back in his pocket and kept along the path. Eventually, he caught up with Henry. For the rest of the trip, Hook tried to enjoy himself. This was intended to be something akin to a father-son bonding experience, Emma’s idea. He couldn't shake Jefferson's warning out of his mind.

Hook wasn’t so much afraid of the stranger searching for him as he was perplexed. He was confident that he could take this man in a fight, but who the hell was he? Anyone who knew him as Killian Jones separate from Captain Hook would have to be hundreds of years old. Who would follow him to Storybrooke from that deep in his past? And what did Hook do to make it worth the effort?

 

* * *

 

After leaving the Rabbit Hole, Jim and Darius's next stop was the park on the other side of town. However, Jefferson's recommendation that they visit the library sounded promising. There they stood, Darius carrying his briefcase and Jim carrying his leftover waffles, deciding what to do.

"Nadir's probably getting really hungry," Darius pointed out.

Jim looked at the Styrofoam box in his hands. "The library's right over there." Jim pointed down the street just past Granny's. A tall, pointed tower stood out from all the other buildings. "We'll be in and out in five minutes."

Darius conceded and they both started walking back the way they came.

"So, what did you make of all that in the bar?" Jim asked, pointing his thumb back toward the White Rabbit.

"Jefferson was nice. Kinda weird, but nice," Darius responded.

That was certainly true. Jim was especially impressed by how seriously Jefferson took Darius compared to Isabelle. Some of his reactions were very odd though. If Jim didn't know that Jefferson was a Storybrooke citizen and a burglary victim - Jim's victim, unfortunately - he'd have reason to consider him a suspect.

"He's all right," Jim said, hoping that Darius didn't catch him looking at Jefferson the way Darius had been looking at Ruby over breakfast. "But I was referring to the case."

"Oh, right. I don't think we're gonna learn all that much from him," Darius answered. "Considering you were the one who robbed him."

"Enough!" said Jim exhaustedly. Hey 

"I'm just saying," Darius appended, "if we decide to go to the police, it might complicate things. Fingerprints and all that.”

Sometimes Jim could easily have mistaken Darius for a miniature version of Nadir. Other times, like the moment he saw the open flower shop, Darius was still the child that Jim saw when he looked at him. What circumstances would turn a preteen into a detective? Someone his age should not be able to identify the age of a bloodstain. Jim was sorry to disappoint Darius by reminding him that they had a limited quantity of money and couldn't afford to waste it on flowers.

"There will be free flowers at the park anyway," Jim said. This made Darius happy enough.

Jim and Darius opened the door to the library and were greeted, unsurprisingly, by shelves upon shelves of books. It was a surprise, however, to see books scattered throughout the aisles and bookcases overturned, like a hurricane had just blown through. Jefferson wasn’t kidding about the library being ransacked.

“Hello? Is anybody here?” Jim called out. “Hello?” Silence. Jim was then startled by a loud, high-pitched ring. Darius had rung a tiny bell on the front desk for assistance.

“I’ll be right with you!” a woman chimed from somewhere in the back. Jim couldn’t see her, but she had a very unique accent.

From the back of the library scurried a lovely woman with long, auburn hair. It was tied back in a practical ponytail, not unlike Jim’s. On her chest rested a tag that read: Belle French, Head Librarian.

“Excuse the mess,” she said politely. Belle had a very friendly demeanor. “A few days ago, someone decided to break in and throw themselves a party or something. We’re still cleaning it all up. Hello! Welcome to the library. My name is Belle. How can I help you two today?”

Jim and Belle shook hands. “Nice to meet you, Belle,” said Jim. “We’re having a bit of a problem and Jefferson down at the Rabbit Hole said you might be able to help.”

“Oh, how is Jefferson? I’ve been meaning to call. I heard his home got broken into as well,” Belle said sympathetically.

Jim kept a straight face. “He’s holding up.”

“Well, that’s good. He’s been having such a hard time lately. Whoever did that really kicked him while he was down,” Belle said, twisting the knife in Jim’s stomach. “I’m sorry. I don’t believe I got your names.”

Jim took a brief reprieve from calling himself a piece of shit to quickly puzzle something out. Jefferson knew this woman personally. Should he say his name was Philip or Killian?

“The name’s Killian,” Jim decided. “This is my cousin, Darius. We’re here about the robberies. Long story short, we’re two detectives from Ingary and we believe that the thief was on the Albatross with us when it crashed.”

“That would make sense,” Belle began. She started stacking books that were open, face down in a messy pile. “This little crime spree didn’t start until that ship landed. It’s a real shame. You’re a lovely bunch of people. It’s so sad that there’s one bad apple going around making you all into suspects.”

“We couldn’t agree more,” Jim said. “And we think we’ve already got a pretty good lead. Whoever the thief is, we’re almost certain that he’s working for Mr. Hyde. He might be doing his dirty work while Hyde is in jail. Or the psych ward, as Jefferson explained.”

Belle’s smile soured a little. “If they’re keeping him in there, then I don’t think we have too much to worry about. The hospital psych ward – it’s built like a prison. Hyde’s no threat as long as no one’s foolish enough to let him out.”

“You’re sure?” Jim asked her.

Belle nodded. “I’m well acquainted with that building.”

She had the same look on her face that Jefferson did when he said “insane asylum”. Belle still had a smile on, but there was something behind her eyes. It wasn’t guilt. It was pain. Jim switched the conversation to something else.

“Would you mind telling us what was taken during the robbery?” Jim asked her.

Belle bounced back into her initial perky persona. “Give me one moment,” she said, disappearing back behind the shelves. She reemerged holding a slip of paper.

“I took an inventory,” she said, unfolding the paper. “I haven’t checked everything yet, but I do know that the burglar took a handful of books from the display case in the fiction section.” She handed it off to Jim. He had heard of none of these books before.

 

 _The Phantom of the Opera_ by Gaston Leroux

 _The Invisible Man_ by H.G. Wells

 _Frankenstein_ by Mary Shelley

 _Dracula_ by Bram Stoker

 _The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_ by Robert Louis Stevenson

 

Belle frowned. “They were all first edition too.”

“Hyde?” Jim read in disbelief. “Hyde has his own book? And who the hell is Dr. Jekyll?” Jim passed the list off to Darius, who was equally confused.

Belle continued cleaning up the mess of books. “I think you’ve got a pretty credible theory,” she said. “Question is, why is Hyde’s friend such a big horror fan?”

“Do you have any more copies of these books?” asked Darius.

Belle pointed toward the west wing of the library. “There’s several of each under Classic Literature, organized by author’s last name.”

“Would it be all right if we took one?” Darius was already on the move, reading list in hand.

Belle set down a large stack of unorganized encyclopedias. “Sure, let me just get you a library card.”

As Darius quickly filled out the form for his library card, Jim began helping Belle pick up books. Helping other people was the fastest way to get them to help you.

“So, if Hyde’s a real person, why is his book in the fiction section?” Jim asked curiously.

“It’s something about this world. Stories from other worlds permeate it and get written down as fiction,” Belle explained. “The stories are never told quite right, but we can still glean some truth from them.”

Jim kept sifting through the books. Then he found one that caught him by complete surprise. He picked it up, not believing his eyes.

 

 _Treasure Island_ by Robert Louis Stevenson

 

Jim quickly skimmed the pages. It was his story, the first great adventure of his life. Billy Bones. Long John Silver. Captain Smollett. It was all there. Jim sat there on his knees, utterly stunned.

Darius came back from Classic Literature with a small stack of large novels. He placed them on the desk near the door and waited for Belle. She came over and helped Darius check them out.

“Now, Darius, I should warn you. I know these books are for research purposes, but they can be quite scary for children,” Belle told him, marking the due dates.

“Scarier than the real Mr. Hyde?” Darius asked.

“I suppose not,” said Belle, stamping the last book.

Jim brought the book he found over to Belle’s desk. “Is there a limit on how many books we can check out?” Jim casually flipped through the novel some more.

“At this point, checking out books is just helping me clean,” Belle said with a small chuckle.

Jim set _Treasure Island_ on the stack. “Darius, can we check out this one too?”

“Why this book?” asked Darius. Why indeed.

“It’s by the same author as Hyde’s book. It might be good supplemental material,” Jim reasoned. For all he knew about these books, there very well could be some deep connection buried in the text. Jim didn’t care about that though. This was his story and he needed to know how people were telling it.

Darius handed the book to Belle. “This one’s a fun one,” she said. “Much better for boys your age.”

Jim wasn’t so sure he wanted Darius reading that one. He’d have to read it first to see how gory the details got. Belle helped Darius put all of his new books in a colorful tote bag.

“Is there anything else I can do for you boys?” Belle asked.

Darius wrote Svengali’s name on another piece of paper and showed it to Belle. “Do you recognize this name?” he asked her.

“As a matter of fact I do!” Belle said. “Wait right here.”

Darius was ecstatic. Finally a lead on Svengali! His excitement was short lived. Belle went back to Classic Literature and returned with another book. _Trilby_ by George du Maurier.

Belle tapped on the cover. “You’ll find him in this one.”

Darius took the book from her. “But you haven’t seen him,” he said, disappointed.

“Is he in Storybrooke too?” Belle asked them, shocked but also intrigued.

Darius nodded. “And he’s working with Hyde. Don’t say his name, please.”

“Oh dear,” Belle whispered. “It’s been a while since I last opened that book, but if memory serves, that man you’re after – he’s a powerful hypnotist. And often times, these books underestimate how powerful or dangerous the real people in them actually are. You two best be careful.”

Jim saw Darius looking despondently at the book. “Hey, chin up. It’s a still a great lead. Nadir’s gonna sh- I mean, he’s going to be thrilled with what you found.”

“Who?” asked Belle.

“His… goldfish,” Jim lied. “His pet goldfish. Thank you so much for your help.”

“Any time!” Belle said. “Any friend of Jefferson’s is a friend of mine.”

Jim and Darius left the library. Jim handed Darius the container of leftovers so he could carry the bag of seven dense books all the way to the park. Belle waved at them as they walked out the door and back down the street. Maybe they should have seen Nadir first.

Jim and Darius made their way back down the street to the park. It was long stretch of road between there and the library. Jim lugged Darius’s book bag the whole way, repeatedly switching arms.

Out of curiosity, Jim read the plot summary of _The Phantom of the Opera_ as they walked. An ugly guy living underneath an opera house falls in love with a singer way out of his league. "Wow," Jim thought sarcastically. "How compelling."

"We need to get one of those car things," said Jim, watching the vehicles speed by. "It would make getting around this nothing of a town a hell of a lot easier."

When they finally got to the park, they stopped for a quick rest. Jim sat down at the table where he met Snow White and David. Darius almost immediately started picking flowers. Once Darius had collected a full bouquet of Storybrooke’s native flora, they pushed through the bushes into the woods. The clearing inside was empty, not counting the remains of the _Albatross_. Nadir wasn’t anywhere in sight.

“Nadir!” Jim called out. “Nadir! Where are you? We brought you breakfast! I guess by now it's more like lunch. Nadir?”

“Quiet, you fool!” Nadir said in a stage whisper. He emerged from the door in the airship’s side. “Someone could hear you.”

And to think Jim was starting to miss him. “Good morning to you too.” Jim held out the container of food. “Have you been sleeping in that wreck?” he asked.

Nadir took the container and opened it. “It was raining. What choice did I have? Did you enjoy your nice, warm bed?” he asked sardonically.

“I slept on the floor,” Jim groaned, side-eyeing Darius. "And you're welcome for the food."

Nadir didn't respond. He just started picking apart and eating the waffle with his fingers. “Learn anything interesting yet?” asked Nadir, sucking some stray syrup off his thumb.

“As a matter of fact, we have,” Jim told him, annoyed. He took the rolled-up newspaper out of his satchel and tossed it to Nadir.

He unfolded the paper and read the headline. “Serial Burglar Strikes School,” Nadir read. “So? What does that have to do with us?”

“So?” Jim echoed back at him. “The robberies started after the dirigible crashed! That’s definitely something!”

Nadir tore off another piece of waffle and stuffed it in his mouth. He thought as he chewed. “Breaking and entering has never been Svengali’s style.”

“He has friends with him, right? Hyde and the Black Coats? Maybe this is one of them,” Jim reasoned. “Catching this guy could be the key to catching Svengali. And we may have found the way how.”

Jim dropped the bag of library books at Nadir’s feet. Nadir sifted through it. “What is this, a bunch of old novels?”

Jim explained to him that the thief stole copies of the books from the local library. The books might have secrets in them that could crack the case. As an example, he showed him _The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde._ Nadir was dumbfounded.

“And guess who else has their own book?” Jim said, holding up the copy of _Trilby._ “Svengali.”

Nadir shushed him and took the book. He held it in his hands like it was some kind of sacred text. Then another book caught his eye even more: _The Phantom of the Opera._ He snatched it up and began flipping through the pages. Odd. Jim had just handed him the story of his most elusive nemesis.

“Do you mind if I hold onto these?” Nadir said about _Trilby_ and _Phantom._

“As long as we get them back to the library by the date inside the cover,” said Darius. “Otherwise, we’ll get fined.”

Nadir walked over to a large log and sat down. He wiped the syrup off his mouth, setting aside his breakfast. “Thank you for bringing me these. We need any clues we can find. You and Darius should investigate the school, but you must be discrete. Never appear too invested in what you’re doing. Definitely never give away any prior knowledge of our target or the man in this paper.”

“You got it,” Jim said. “We’ll read through these other books when we have spare time. It might take us a while. Let’s go, Dar. We’ve got a thief to find.”

Darius grabbed Jim’s sleeve. “Found him!” he cheered, giggling to himself.

Jim sighed, picking up the book bag. “I’m never gonna live that down, am I?” At least the bag was a bit lighter now.

They once again walked across town, this time a bit more northwest. Finding the school wasn’t easy. Jim compared the address given in the newspaper to a tourist map that he promised Darius he found in the garbage. Eventually, they found their way to the campus. A large sign reading ‘Storybrooke Elementary School’ told them they had made it.

“All right,” Jim said to Darius, “if anyone asks, we’re just taking a walk and we stumbled on the crime scene.”

“Got it,” Darius confirmed.

The two of them took a casual stroll along the sidewalk that curved onto the school property. They passed a compact yellow car, which caught both of their attentions. On the back, it read Volkswagen in faded metal print.

“Seriously, we have got to get one of those,” Jim remarked. “Gotta say though, this one’s kinda ugly.”

“Gee, thanks,” a woman said behind them.

Jim and Darius turned around to see a blonde woman in a red leather jacket. Her arms were crossed and she was less than pleased to see two strangers commenting on what was clearly her car. Jim nervously laughed.

“Sorry, yellow’s not my color,” Jim backtracked.

The woman’s expression didn’t change much. “This is a crime scene. Sheriff’s department only, please.” She motioned for them to move along.

“A crime scene? What happened?” Jim asked, doing his best to look shocked. He then realized that this was the woman he saw arriving at Jefferson’s house after the burglary. Jim would need to be careful.

The woman sighed. “There was a break-in last night. I don’t know if you heard, but there’s been a string of burglaries around town this past week. We’ve been trying to find the creep responsible.”

“Maybe we can help,” Jim said, trying not to take “creep” personally. He marched forward to shake the woman’s hand. She shook his hand rather hesitantly. “We both came here from Ingary. We work as detectives there. Is there anything we can do?”

The woman looked down at Darius curiously. “He’s a detective?” she asked.

“Junior detective,” Jim told her. The wounded look on Darius’s face was priceless.

“All right. It never hurts to have a few extra eyes on the situation. We’re a little short-staffed at the moment anyway,” she said, before providing them with her name. “Emma Swan.”

“Philip Cassell. So, what’s the story?” Jim asked her.

Emma brought them around the side of the school, recounting the same events they heard from Jefferson and Belle. “Yesterday was weird. The thief decided to hit two places in one day. Then we ran the prints. Turns out, we’ve got two thieves on our hands.”

Jim gulped. He made a mental note not to touch anything and maybe invest in some gloves. “Wow, that is strange,” Jim said, casting a look at Darius to make sure he stayed silent on the matter.

Around the corner, they saw a shattered window surrounded by yellow police tape. Jim instinctively put his hand in front of Darius to keep him away from the glass. Based on how the window had been busted, the impact came from the inside.

“If this is how he broke out, how did he break in?” Jim asked her.

“There’s no broken locks or anything. He might have snuck into the school while it was still open. We’re waiting on the security guard to get us the footage from last night,” she explained. “Here he comes now.”

A rather short, tired-looking man emerged from a nearby door. He led the three of them to his office, which had square boxes showing pictures of the school hallways. Jim was surprised when the images started to move.

Emma leaned over the console. “What are we looking at, Sleepy?”

“I went through the whole thing. There’s no forced entry anywhere,” said Sleepy, speeding through the moving pictures. “But around ten, when the last employee had gone home, this happened.” Sleepy set the image back to a normal speed.

Jim craned his neck forward to see where Sleepy was pointing. Nothing was happening. Then, a door opened all of its own accord. Jim looked at Emma. She was just as surprised as he was.

The door reopened and closed. Across the hall, another door opened. When the door opened again, Sleepy froze the picture. A small stack of books – children’s books by the look of them – were floating through the hallway in midair.

“So it’s magic we’re dealing with,” Emma said. Apparently, she was used to this sort of thing. “Keep going.”

The books hovered down the hallway to another door, which opened and closed behind them. Sleepy paused the image again.

“That’s the room with the broken window. This was taken at 10:14,” Sleepy explained. “The alarm didn’t go off until 10:21.”

“Did the books fly out the window?” Jim asked. It was mostly facetious, but anything was possible at this point.

Emma thought for a moment. “No,” she said. “There were books on the floor nearby.”

“Could they have been different books?” asked Darius. He had been so quiet, Jim nearly forgot he was there.

Emma shook her head. “That’s my mom’s classroom. She doesn’t leave a mess.”

Emma led Jim, Darius, and Sleepy down the hallway to her mother’s classroom.

“So, if no security was coming, why did the… thing have to make such a sudden exit?” Darius wondered, hustling to keep up with the adults.

Emma opened the door. “I don’t know, kid, but we’re gonna find out.”

Sure enough, they were greeted by a jagged, gaping window and blinds that appeared to be ripped out of place. Emma walked over and picked up the books, which were laying in a messy pile. It was a microcosm of the library incident.

“I thought these had just been displaced on the way out,” Emma said, flipping through them.

“Can I see?” asked Jim. She handed them over. More titles Jim didn’t recognize. _Beauty and the Beast, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Little Red Riding Hood,_ and… _Snow White and the Seven Dwarves_? “Snow White? She has her own book here too?”

Emma took the books back and stacked them on the teacher’s desk. “Her own book, her own movie. My mom’s kinda famous in these parts,” Emma said, as if she didn’t just drop the bombshell that Snow White was her mother.

“Hold on. Snow White, _the_ Snow White, is your mother?” Jim asked with slow incredulity. How did that even work? They had to be about the same age!

Suddenly, they both heard a ringing. It seemed to come out of Emma. “Yeah, and I’m getting a call from her right now.” She pulled a thin rectangular device from her pocket. “She’s Facetiming me.” Whatever that meant.

Emma pressed a button and Snow’s face appeared on the screen. She was hunched over and in tears. She didn’t say anything right away, seemingly distracted.

“Mom, what’s going on?” Emma asked, not quite sure how concerned to be.

“There’s somebody in the apartment,” she whispered, petrified with fear. “He came at me with a knife and he’s trying to break into the bathroom. Neal’s okay. He’s right here with me.” The picture shifted over to Neal, who was disconcerted but oblivious to why his mother was panicking.

The picture came back to Snow. “Your dad’s on his way from the new house, but he might need some backup.” Snow sniffled. Another tear ran down her face.

“Okay, I’m coming. Everything’s going to be all right,” Emma assured her, maybe also trying to assure herself. She left the classroom and bolted down the hallway.

Jim and Darius tailed her, trying not to lose her in the halls. They followed her out the main doors into the parking lot.

“Keep talking to me, Mom,” Emma instructed. “Take a deep breath.”

Snow continued. “I looked in the mirror and there were these two eyes looking right at me from behind. The knife was just floating there. I didn’t know what to do. I kicked at him. He dropped the knife. I took it in here with me, but he’s not stopping. He’s _invisible_ , Emma. Be careful when you get here. He could be anywhere.”

Emma took a set of keys out of her pocket. “My mom’s in trouble, guys. I gotta go.”

“Let us go with you,” Jim asked, not wanting Snow or her son to be hurt.

Emma was in too much of a panic to speak. She shook her head no as she clumsily unlocked her car.

“We know who’s attacking her!” Darius cried out, holding a book in the air. It was _The Invisible Man._

Emma ran over and took the book from his hands. After a moment of paralysis, Emma said, “Get in the car.”

Jim climbed into the passenger seat. Darius sat in the back. Emma turned the key and started the engine. Under other circumstances, Jim would have been thrilled to go for his first ride in a car. He followed Emma’s lead and buckled his seat belt. He told Darius to do the same.

They sped back to town in Emma’s ugly yellow Volkswagen. Jim prayed for Snow’s safety, but he also hoped she could keep the Invisible Man there long enough to be caught. Darius cracked the case wide open, but this mystery wasn’t solved quite yet.


	4. The Perils of Invisibility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim and Darius help the Nolan family catch the Invisible Man, only for him to die when someone crushes his heart.

_"That's when I realized that he was invisible, like a magic trick, like a miracle. I don't know how he did it. He was gone, but he still was there. Totally invisible,_   _but don't get me wrong. He was tangible, but invisible like gravity or the air."_ \- "Invisible", _Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown_

* * *

 

The car skidded to a stop in front of Granny’s. There was another larger vehicle haphazardly parked beside them. Jim assumed it belonged to David. Emma and Jim sprang out of the car and rushed up the front steps. At the door stood Granny, brandishing a crossbow.

“Granny, what’s going on? What’s happened?” Emma asked in a panic.

“Your dad just went up there a minute ago,” Granny told her. “He gave me the rundown. I’ll be here in case the bastard makes a break for it.”

Jim wasn’t sure that the crossbow was going to work. “Did he mention the guy’s invisible?”

Granny wasn't deterred. “I don’t aim by sight, sonny. I aim by smell,” she said confidently. Jim didn’t question it.

“No time to talk. We’ve gotta go,” said Emma, darting for the hallway into the inn.

Jim followed after her. So did Darius, who was supposed to be waiting in the car. “Dar, I need you to stay down here. You did a great job today, but it is not safe up there. Granny’ll take care of you, right?”

Granny nodded with a militant stance. Jim patted Darius on the shoulder. Then he dashed to catch up with Emma.

“Your parents live _here_?” Jim asked her from one flight below. How did he miss them? He ran past the room he and Darius shared.

“They used to,” Emma panted. “They’re moving to a new house. Mom must have been doing some packing when the guy attacked her.”

They finally reached the door to Snow and David’s apartment. There was a loud brawl going on inside. Jim could hear someone land a punch. Presumably David, as the recipient’s voice was unfamiliar. Emma tried the doorknob, but it was locked. The Invisible Man must have not wanted any reinforcements.

“Fuck this,” Emma spat. She turned to Jim. “You got a weapon?”

Jim withdrew a pair of blades from his pockets. “Do I ever.”

“Good. Now stand back,” Emma ordered.

She held her arms out in front of her. At first, Jim had no idea what she was doing. Then he watched in amazement as Emma conjured a ball of light between her hands and blasted it at the door, knocking it clean off its hinges. She wasted no time rushing into the room.

“Are you a witch or something?” Jim marveled. He joined her in watching David wrestle an unseen opponent on the floor. The sight might have been humorous were the situation not so dire.

“Dad!” Emma cried out.

David looked up. “Emma! Philip?” He swung at the Invisible Man again. This time he missed.

“Mom, I’m here! Everything’s gonna be okay!” Emma called to her mother in the bathroom.

David cried out in pain and released his assailant. “Ah! He bit me!” he said, clutching his right hand. “Where’d he go?”

Emma looked around the room. “I don’t know. Mom said that we can see his eyes. Look for the eyes.”

David stood to his feet, shaking the pain out of his hand. Of course, now the man would keep his eyes shut or turned away until he was able to strike. She heard a creak in one of the floorboards near the window.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Emma snarled. She summoned another ball of light. This caused the light around her to warp.

Within the aura of Emma’s magic, Jim could make out the vague shape of a human being. He knew he had one shot. Jim grabbed a throwing knife from inside his coat and hurled it at the humanoid mass. It stuck the Invisible Man right in the shoulder, literally disappearing into his skin. His eyes sprang open. Blood dripped from thin air onto the floor, creating a target that Emma could strike.

“Fuck!” the Invisible Man cried as he pulled out the knife. His voice was hoarse  and nasal.

“Emma! Now!” Jim hollered.

Emma let loose her magic on the hovering set of eyes. The Invisible Man went flying through the open window and into the street. Emma, Jim, and David ran to the windowsill.

The man flew quite a distance. He landed on a dumpster halfway down the alley. There was a loud clunk and a discernible dent in the metal cover. The cover started to move. The Invisible Man dismounted the dumpster. Jim was shocked he hadn’t broken his back. He could see the red spot of blood get smaller and smaller as it floated away around the corner.

“I’m going after him,” David announced. He ran for his gun and made sure it was loaded.

“Dad, you can’t shoot what you can’t see!” Emma told him.

“So what, we let him get away?” David replied. “Philip could hit him! How were you able to hit him?”

Jim was going to explain when a voice from the bathroom asked, “Is he gone? Is it safe to come out?” It was Snow.

“He’s gone, Mom!” Emma ran to the door. “Mom, are you all right? Did he hurt you?”

Snow unlocked the door and came out, holding Neal in her arms. She was still breathing pretty heavily. “I’m fine.” She handed Neal to David and took a seat on a cardboard box. “Just a little startled is all.” Snow looked over and saw the blood droplets on the floor. “Is that your blood?”

“No,” said David. “It’s his. We have Philip here to thank for that.”

Jim walked over and picked up his knife. He found the kitchen and washed the blood off in the sink, drying it with a paper towel. He rejoined the group, who were all looking at him in stunned silence.

“How did you hit him?” Snow asked, astounded.

“It was Emma,” Jim replied. “When she conjured that magic, it did something to the light. For a few seconds, I was able to see him. I saw his general shape at least.”

“Then I’ve got a plan to catch him!” Everyone turned their heads to the door. There was Darius, guarded closely by Granny.

After taking a moment to catch their breath, everyone went down to the diner to hear Darius’s plan. They gathered at one of the larger booths. Granny paced about the room with her crossbow. At first it sounded like she had a runny nose, but then Jim realized she was checking for the Invisible Man’s scent.

Darius, after asking the Nolan family a few questions, began to describe his plan to them. They were still somewhat shaken, but they were happy to hear him out. Midway through his spiel, the bell at the door interrupted him. Ruby and Dorothy entered the front door. Had they been holding hands? It must have been Jim's imagination.

Granny pulled them aside and told them what had happened upstairs. Jim could tell from Ruby’s not-so-subtle “Oh my god!” She rushed over and wrapped Snow in a tight hug, briefly breaking Darius's flow. Ruby and Dorothy both pulled up a chair while Darius concluded his plan to catch the Invisible Man. Some of the adults, Granny included, seemed a bit hesitant to take the advice of a child, but Jim had faith.

“Listen, Phil,” Emma whispered to him. “I’m not really one to talk when it comes to underestimating kids. I learned that the hard way with my own son. But does he really know what he’s talking about?”

Jim glanced at her. “You got a better idea?”

Emma shrugged and shook her head. “Let’s do it.”

It was a risky endeavor, but it made sense. And it was the only way to catch him with minimal risk. Still, it was going to require the combined power of Emma’s magic, Jim’s combat prowess, and a few buckets of paint from Snow and David’s new home. They made a plan to do it that night.

“Tonight?” Ruby asked. She looked to Dorothy, who instantly understood. Dorothy got up from the table and walked toward the stairs.

“Ready to get back in the game, girlie?” Granny asked her. She presented Dorothy with the crossbow.

Dorothy took the bow with surprising confidence. “He’s not a witch, but he’ll do. What’ll you do be doing?”

Granny sighed. “Babysitting.”

She was looking in Snow’s direction, who was busy coloring a paper menu with Neal. By her beleaguered tone, Jim guessed that Granny had to watch Neal more often than she liked. He began to worry that asking her to mind Darius was an imposition. Dorothy left and returned carrying a red traveling cloak.

They all had a quick meal together. Once again, Jim ate half his food, then boxed the rest for Nadir. Snow, David, and Emma planned to drive over to the police station afterward. Jim told them he had some business to take care of, but he would meet them there shortly. He had to bring Nadir his dinner and relay the plan. Getting a ride with Emma would have been convenient, but she might pry. Jim was willing to suffer the walk.

After they broke, Granny told Ruby to go up to the apartment. Something about catching the scent. Ruby and Dorothy were both going to join the Invisible Man hunt. Jim, Snow, David, and Emma all moved to leave.

“Call us when you’re on your way there,” Ruby said to Emma on their way out the door. Dorothy helped her put on the red cloak. “We’ll meet you.”

Jim was last out the door. Almost. Darius was at his heels as usual.

“No,” Jim said firmly. “I already asked Granny. She said she’ll watch you while I’m gone.” Jim pointed for Darius to go back inside.

Darius stamped his foot. “But it’s my plan!”

“And it’s a good plan,” Jim told him, “to catch a _murderer_. You know those weapons I’ve got in my coat? The ones that make you antsy? I’m gonna have to use them on this guy. You don’t want me to hurt him any more than I have to, right?”

Darius nodded uncertainly.

“Well, if I’m worried that you might get hurt, I might end up hurting him a lot more just to make sure that doesn’t happen. Save a life, Dar. Sit this one out.”

“You’re treating me like a kid!” Darius protested.

“You want me to treat you like an adult?” Jim asked sarcastically. “I can treat you like an adult. This mission is about subduing and capturing an assailant – one that you can’t see. You’re not even five feet tall. You’re not combat ready. You’re gonna be up against a slippery, six-foot-something, invisible madman. Sending you in there is more of a liability than an asset. And you know what else?”

Darius was starting to shake. Was he angry? Was he hurt? “What?” Darius asked defiantly.

“If you go in there, we risk losing the smartest person on the team. We’ve all got parts to play here. You did a great job with the strategy, so I need you to think strategically again. What part of taking you to Snow and David’s house, even if it’s just to watch your plan play out, is a good strategy?” Jim watched Darius crumple. He didn’t like bursting the poor kid’s bubble.

Darius sighed. “You’re right. I’m being selfish.”

It nearly broke Jim’s heart to hear Darius say that. “Hey, I didn’t say…”

“But it’s true,” Darius cut him off. “I’d be risking the mission.”

“We’re not losing this mission,” Jim said. “I know that because you planned it. What we can’t risk losing is you. I know something you can do to help out. We’ve got all those books from the library we still need to read.”

Darius wasn’t exactly enthused.

“I’ll tell you what,” Jim offered. “The first time I was ever in a situation like this – one that was murder adjacent – I was seventeen years old. If we’re still friends in five years, I’ll let you come to whatever attempted murder scene you want. Deal? I’ll even ask Emma to record tonight's ordeal with that phone thing of hers.”

“Deal,” Darius said, still not totally satisfied.

“We’ll figure out a way for Nadir to see it,” Jim added with a playful inflection. “He will shit a brick.”

Darius’s frown struggled to maintain itself as he suppressed a laugh.

“Don’t smile,” Jim said annoyingly. “Whatever you do, don’t smile.”

Darius started laughing out loud. Jim began to laugh too. He held his hand out so they could shake on it. Darius grabbed his hand and shook it. Jim pulled him into a hug.

“It’s all good, buddy. You're doing some real good work here. Now, I gotta go. Be grateful you don’t have to deal with Nadir,” Jim said, getting up and walking down the front steps.

Darius leaned over the railing. “Why? He likes _me_.”

“You got me there,” Jim conceded. “I’ll see you later. Don’t stay up too late. If you’re asleep when I get back, I’ll wake you up and tell you everything.”

Darius seemed happy with this arrangement. Jim waved goodbye and started again down Main Street to the park. He checked the watch, which was still lightly ticking. It was only about five o’clock at night.

As Jim walked along the street, the sun went down behind the trees on his right. At the dock near the park, Jim looked out over the water. Storybrooke must sit on an eastern shoreline. “That’s a shame,” Jim thought. “They never see the sunset on the ocean.”

Jim hopped the fence into the park and made his way to the ruined _Albatross_. He brought along his box of food, this time half a cheeseburger and some leftover French fries. It was growing dark in the woods, which never failed to give Jim the creeps. Nadir was once again out of sight, making the hairs on the back of Jim’s neck stand even higher. 

“Nadir? Are you in the ship?” he whispered. Jim walked along a path Nadir had carved out in the debris. “Nadir?” 

Jim poked his head through the door to the ship’s cabin. He looked around, but saw nothing but broken wine glasses and luxury chairs that had snapped in half. He took his head back out. 

“To what do I owe this visit?” 

Jim started to scream, but covered his mouth the split-second he saw Nadir. He was nonchalantly leaning against the ship. Where the fuck did he come from? 

“You asshole!” Jim hissed. “You scared me half to death.” 

Nadir tilted his head. “Afraid of the dark, are we?” Jim didn’t say anything. He just handed Nadir the box of food. “You could try bringing me bigger portions,” Nadir complained, sampling a fry. 

Jim sat down on the big log nearby. “I have to eat too, you know. Unless you wanting me ordering for a mysterious third party,” Jim returned. “That won’t seem odd to anyone.” 

Nadir seemed to like the fries. He stuffed a few in his mouth at once. “Lucky for me, the _Albatross_ had a small kitchen on board. If you ever need a hundred bags of mixed nuts, you know where to find them. So, what’s the latest?” 

Jim fished the book from one of his larger pockets. “We found out who’s been terrorizing the town. He’s from one of the books we picked up. _The Invisible Man_. The book says his name is Griffin. I can’t help but think, if Hyde, Griffin, and You-Know-Who were all in these books, then who’s in the other books he stole? And why do they want them? They’re not even the true stories.” 

“How do you know?” Nadir asked, with a smudge of ketchup in the corner of his mouth. 

“For one, the librarian told me herself. We also skimmed through them a bit. Hyde and Griffin are both dead by the end of their stories and here they are alive.” Jim flipped to the end of _The Invisible Man_ where Griffin perished, becoming visible again upon death. “Clearly, H.G. Wells and Robert Stevenson got a few things wrong. The books were also written a couple hundred years ago. None of this makes any fucking sense. Anyway, there’s more.” 

Nadir was halfway into biting his cheeseburger. “Go on. I’m enthralled,” he said, completely deadpan. 

“Today, Griffin attacked a family from Storybrooke. He was trying to murder the wife, maybe the kid too. The husband showed up later. Maybe he wanted to kill them all. Their older daughter and I managed to drive him off. I should probably mention that the dad and daughter are both police officers.” 

“What? I specifically said-” Nadir began to berate him. 

Jim held up a silencing finger. It was surprisingly effective. “Thanks to Darius, we now have a plan to capture and hopefully interrogate the guy. It’s not our fault his target was the sheriff’s family. Now, before you say anything, they think we’re just a couple of cousins-slash-detectives who happened to be on the airship. That's it.” 

Nadir was disgruntled by this turn of events, but he conceded to Jim’s point. “And what is Darius’s plan?” He took another large bite of his burger. 

“We’re luring him to their house where we’re setting up a trap,” Jim explained. 

“That’s it?” Nadir was unimpressed. 

Jim stood up and began ambling back to town. “Don’t worry. We’re recording the whole thing just for you. And Darius. I made him wait back at the inn.” 

Nadir finished his meal and set it aside. “Finally doing something responsible, I see.” 

Jim stopped and put his foot down. “You know, if you’re gonna punish me every time I do something right, I’m just gonna quit bothering. Now, I’ve got to go. They’re waiting for me at the police station.” Nadir had more to say, but Jim was already halfway to the park. “I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow!” 

Jim left the park and made the short journey to the police station. Emma’s car and David’s truck were parked out front. The door was locked, but Jim could see them waiting inside. He waved through the window and knocked on the glass. David came to open the door. 

“Sorry, I took so long,” Jim said. “I, uh, had some trouble finding the place.” 

They sat down around the coffee table in the front lobby to review the plan. Snow and David were going to leave first in David’s truck. Emma and Jim would leave shortly after to rendezvous with Dorothy and Ruby near the house. The four of them would stake out the house while Snow and David pretended to have a romantic dinner at home. With any luck, the Invisible Man would return to finish the job. 

They left the station as planned. Emma waved goodbye as her parents drove off. She and Jim got into her little yellow car. She grabbed the steering wheel and took some deep breaths. Jim waited for her to turn the key.

“Are you all right?” Jim asked her.

“I’m fine,” Emma answered. “It’s just... I’ve run into a lot of situations where I’ve been dangerously close to losing my parents. I really don’t like the idea of turning them into bait for this psycho.”

Jim felt for her, but it was the only way to bring the fight to them on their terms.

“Don’t worry,” he told her. “What’s an invisible guy got against a witch, a detective with superior knife-throwing skills, a girl with a crossbow, and... you know, I'm not exactly sure what Ruby’s deal is. Anyway, your parents are tough, especially your dad.”

Emma still stared out the windshield. “He’ll have his sword with him this time. My mom’s an archer, but that’s only useful with a visible target. I was surprised to see her hiding like that in the bathroom. Normally, she’d put up more of a fight.”

“She must have been scared stiff,” Jim said. “There’s an invisible guy with a knife and you’ve got a toddler in the room? I’d get the hell out of there too. But they’re ready this time and they’ve got us.”

Emma nodded. “Enough talking. Let’s go.” She turned the key in the ignition. The engine revved to life. Emma took out her phone. She didn’t press it to her ear this time. She just typed something into it that Jim couldn’t quite see. “I just told Ruby where to meet us.”

“Is it possible to make a recording of all this? The only way I could get Darius to stay at Granny’s was to promise him some visuals of his master plan.”

Emma turned to him with a disbelieving, almost disgusted look. “Seriously? One of us could get killed and you want that on video?”

“When you put it like that, of course it sounds awful,” Jim said. “Maybe just the aftermath?”

“Only if it goes the way we hope,” she told him. She pulled the car out of its spot and they left the parking lot.

They drove a short distance into the country. By the light of the full moon, Jim was able to make out much of the countryside. Emma parked the car on the side of the road. In the distance, Jim could see the lights of a house. Snow and David must be there.

Emma and Jim exited the car and found Ruby and Dorothy waiting for them. Dorothy was wielding Granny’s crossbow. Ruby was wearing her red cloak with the hood up. What was so special about that cloak? Jim vaguely remembered a storybook in Snow’s classroom about a girl with a red hood, but he figured it was probably a coincidence. The four of them clustered together and whispered the next steps in the plan.

Ruby took a deep breath of night air. “He’s not here yet. We should go now,” she said. How was she so sure?

The four of them quietly made their way onto Snow and David’s property. They hid in the bushes on different parts of the perimeter. They had to make themselves just as invisible as the Invisible Man himself. Jim hid with Emma. Dorothy hid close to Ruby.

They waited for over an hour. Jim was growing increasingly bored. Emma continued to keep an eye on the situation with her binoculars. Jim was using his trusty spyglass. Through it, Jim could see Snow and David cleaning up after enjoying a nice meal together. “It must be nice having someone to come to,” Jim thought.

Emma sighed. “This really wasn’t how I wanted to spend my Saturday night,” she said. “It would be nice if Killian was around to help out, but of course I sent him off camping with my son.”

“Killian?” Jim asked, curious.

“My boyfriend,” Emma explained.

“I had a boyfriend named Killian once,” he very nearly said. It must be a more common name than he thought. Aloud, he asked, “Is he on the force too?”

Emma set down her binoculars. “He’s in training. Although, the job isn’t very hard in Storybrooke. It’s a lot of downtime until some threat from another world rolls into town.”

“Does that happen a lot?” Jim asked, wondering if he'd be considered a 'threat from another world.'

“More than you'd think,” she answered.

Speaking of threats from other worlds, Jim suddenly recalled his conversation with Jefferson earlier that morning. “This might not be the time to mention it, but you’ve got Hyde locked up in the hospital psych ward, right?”

“Yeah, what about it?” Emma asked, scanning the area.

Jim didn’t want to tell her how to do her job, but this was vitally important. “It’s my understanding that psychiatric wards are your equivalent to insane asylums. I thought you should know. Hyde runs an asylum in Ingary. Are you sure he’s secure in there?”

“The psych ward here is pretty medieval,” Emma said. “It wouldn’t fly in other parts of the country. It’s basically just a row of solitary confinement cells, which only exist to make people worse than they were before. They don’t put patients down there anymore. We’ve been working on building a proper jail, but it’s been kind of a low priority.”

Jim had further questions, but he was cut off by a loud howl in the distance. “What was that?” asked Jim, spooked. A wild animal? Just what they needed.

“It's a signal from Ruby,” Emma said. “That means he’s here.”

Jim was going to ask about Ruby, the cloak, the sniffing and howling, but that all could wait. It was time to keep quiet and focused. The window of the sliding door broke. Jim didn’t need a spyglass to see that. He could hear the sound echo throughout the surrounding area. A gadget on Emma’s belt crackled as David’s voice came out.

“Emma, he’s inside,” David whispered.

“Be right there. Stay safe,” Emma answered back. She turned to Jim. “Let’s move.”

“You first!” Jim told her, holding his knives at the ready.

Jim wasn’t a coward, but he did need Emma to light up the room for him. He removed his jacket and followed Emma, sprinting across the back lawn. They carefully slipped through the broken glass door. What was it with this guy and windows? Snow and David had already fled the room when they got there.

“Where is he?” Jim asked, looking around the room. “Care to light this place up?”

David charged back into the room, swinging his sword at an unseen opponent. “He’s right here!” he shouted to them, pointing to the man with the tip of his sword.

Emma summoned her magic and filled the den with light. The Invisible Man shimmered just enough to be barely seen. Jim slid across the hardwood floor and slashed at the man's ankles. He howled in pain and fell to his knees. Jim set the bloody knife behind him, beyond the Invisible Man's reach. He covered the man’s wound while tightly holding his legs in place. What was coming next would be toxic to his bloodstream.

Emma brought her light aura closer. The man’s bloodshot eyes were glaring up at them.

“I’d close my eyes if I were you,” Jim said, grabbing the knife and holding it close to the Invisible Man’s transparent throat.

Snow and David ran back into the room carrying massive buckets of paint. They doused the Invisible Man in canary yellow and sky blue. The paint dripped down his form, giving the appearance of a two-toned ghost slowly appearing before them.

Emma dispersed her magic. After a brief messy tussle that ruined Jim’s clothes, the Invisible Man slipped from his grasp and bolted for the door. This time, they were ready. When the man opened the front door to escape, he and Jim were both stunned to see a massive wolf staring him in the face. Dorothy was beside the wolf, pointing her crossbow right at the dripping mass of paint.

“You’re not going anywhere,” said Dorothy. She had the slightest grin on her face, like she’d been waiting ages for a challenge like this.

The Invisible Man backed up slowly. The back of his head touched the tip of an arrow. Snow had taken up her bow and aimed it right at the man’s head. He put his arms in the air, admitting defeat. Emma came from behind and slapped a pair of handcuffs on him. David took hold of him and Emma ran to go pull up the car.

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.” Dorothy and Snow kept their weapons aimed at him while David read him his Miranda rights.

“Where are you taking me?” They were the first words out of the Invisible Man’s mouth, aside from some pain-induced profanities. Jim expected him to spit venom, but the words came out more weary than anything else.

“The police station,” said David, forcing him by the shoulder toward Emma’s approaching car.

Snow set some towels down for the man in the back of Emma’s car so he wouldn’t get paint on the upholstery. She then picked up Ruby’s red cloak. Where was Ruby anyway? Snow came back and draped the cloak over the wolf. The wolf stood back on its hind legs. It grew smaller and smaller as it morphed back into Ruby.

“Holy shit!” Jim exclaimed. “You’re a...”

“Werewolf?” Ruby finished with a self-satisfied smile. “Don’t worry. I don’t bite.”

Dorothy bumped her arm. “Much,” she added with a smile.

Emma handed Jim her phone and showed Jim how to take a video. “For Darius,” she said. “He’s earned it.”

Jim was no stranger to electricity. Electronics were a different story. Still, Jim was a quick learner. He aimed the phone and began narrating.

“Hey, Dar! We just caught him. Your plan worked like a charm. I only had to cut him once. As you can see, there is paint everywhere. And a little bit of blood. Don’t worry. It’s his. Everybody’s here. Dorothy, Ruby, Snow... Hey, wave to Darius! And here... is the man himself.”

Jim placed the phone right up in the Not-so-Invisible Man’s face. “Fuck off,” he snarled from inside the car.

“That’s not very nice. A child is gonna see this,” Jim taunted him. He turned the phone's camera to face himself. “Sorry we couldn’t record things as they went down. It was too dangerous and certain people thought it was inappropriate. Anyway, we’re taking this dirtbag back to the police station. We should have more answers tomorrow. I'll see you later! All right, now how do I stop it?”

Emma took the phone back and ended the recording. Then they joined the others at the car. Emma was going to drive, but she would need help keeping their suspect under control. David sat with the man in the back, keeping his gun at the ready. Jim sat in front again, his revolver out and visible. Ruby and Dorothy were going to stay behind and help Snow clean up. As Jim said, there was paint everywhere, plus some blood and broken glass.

When they got to the station, Jim and David hauled the Invisible Man over to the iron-barred cell and shut the door. The man didn’t say a word. He just sat down on the bench inside with a squish. David, Jim, and Emma watched him sit there, expecting some kind of reaction. Jim began to get a very uncomfortable look on his face.

“What is it?” Emma asked.

“Nothing. I’m just suddenly very aware of the fact that he’s naked,” Jim told her.

The paint had covered the Invisible Man pretty thoroughly, including some more intimate areas. Emma’s nose crinkled in disgust too and she turned away.

“Yeah, when I was fighting with him earlier today,” said David, “I touched something I really wasn’t expecting to.” His face was still and his look was distant, like he was recalling a trauma.

“You could have used that your advantage,” Jim remarked before turning around and taking a seat. He made a squishing sound as well. “I just realized... I’m going to leave a paint splotch in the exact shape of my ass on this chair. I’m very sorry.”

Emma and David both looked at their own clothes. “Aw, shit,” Emma said. “I got paint on my favorite jacket.” It was barely a drop compared to Jim and David, who would almost certainly have to throw everything they were wearing away.

“I left my favorite jacket back at your house!” Jim remembered. Thankfully, he had the foresight to take it off before he became a modern art exhibit. Aside from successfully capturing the Invisible Man, this whole operation had been an unmitigated disaster.

“You don’t hear me complaining,” said the man in the cell. They all turned to listen. “Need I remind you, I have an open wound on my left leg?” They forgot to dress the wound. “Also, what exactly am I supposed to do if paint gets in my eyes?”

The Invisible Man was being oddly polite after everything he’d endured. He sat there perfectly still, like some odd work of art. Jim, David, and Emma slowly approached his cell again.

“Are you just going to stand there?” he snapped at them. “Do you want me to get inflamed and infected?”

Emma and David exchanged glances. “I’ll get the first aid kit,” said Emma. She started rummaging through nearby drawers. David wadded up some paper towels and lightly moistened them in the sink. This left Jim briefly alone with the Invisible Man.

“You,” the Invisible Man spoke softly at Jim. “You sure do like making me bleed.”

“And you sure like crashing through windows,” Jim shot back at him. “Griffin, right?”

His eyes opened curiously. It was strange seeing confusion manifest itself through floating pigment.

“Griffin?” the man asked. “Who’s Griffin?”

Jim leaned in closely to the bars. “Is that not your name?” he whispered. “I read your book. The one you stole from the library. It says your name’s Griffin.” In truth, Jim had just skimmed it, but he liked the idea of making paint start to sweat.

“Then that’s one more thing the book got wrong,” said the Invisible Man.

Emma and David came back with their medical and hygiene supplies. David began to unlock the cell.

“Not you!” the Invisible Man shouted at David. “One of them.”

David handed the damp towel to Jim and told him to wipe the paint away from his eyes. Jim and Emma stepped into the cage with the Invisible Man and hesitantly began cleaning him up. Emma dressed the cut on his leg. The man cussed when he felt the antiseptic. Meanwhile, Jim wiped the man’s brow. The paint was beginning to dry, so there wasn’t much concern about it getting in his eyes. Still, Jim did it to make him happy.

“Thank you,” said the Invisible Man when they were done. “I suppose a shower is too much to ask.”

David chuckled. “Until we find another way to keep an eye on you, that paint is staying on.”

“You’re not just going to leave me here, are you?” the Invisible Man asked, almost sad thinking he’d be left alone. His unsettling, disembodied eyes looked so tired and defeated.

“Will he be all right in there?” Emma asked her father. “I mean, this guy’s tricky. He might be able to escape. Should we stay? The three of us?” It wasn’t out of pity. Emma was smart. They couldn’t let themselves get manipulated by a psychopath in a cage, but they couldn't risk him fleeing.

“We can sleep in shifts,” Jim said, from his paint-coated seat in the corner. If they were staying, they weren't going let their prisoner go unobserved. “Just let me use your, uh, phone thing to call Darius over at Granny’s.”

Emma took out her phone. “Sure, I’ve got her on speed dial.” Jim took the phone and held it to his face the way Emma had. The dial tone rang in his ear. “Is it supposed to be…?” Emma nodded.

“Hello? Emma?” came Granny’s voice. Jim repositioned the phone until he could hear. “No, Granny, it’s J- I mean, it’s Philip. Emma’s letting me borrow her phone.”

“Oh. How did it go over on the farm? Everyone all right?” Granny asked.

Jim scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, we’re all fine. We caught the guy. He’s behind bars right now.”

“Good. Glad you caught the bastard,” said Granny.

Jim chuckled, but got straight to the point. “We’re going to be staying overnight to make sure he doesn’t escape. Can you tell Darius I won’t be back till tomorrow?”

“Tell him yourself. He’s right here.” There was a shuffling sound as Granny handed the phone off.

“So, what happened? Did you get him? Did you get him?” Darius asked eagerly.

Jim smiled. “We got him,” he was happy to say.

“I can’t believe I had to miss it!” Darius lamented. “It was my plan.”

“And it worked perfectly,” Jim informed him. “I wasn’t able to record the whole thing, but I got everything after we caught him. Emma's gonna show me how to send it to you.”

“When are you coming back?” asked Darius.

Jim sighed. “Not till tomorrow. We don’t trust this guy not to escape, so we’re staying here and sleeping in shifts. We’re going to interrogate him tomorrow morning.”

“Can I come for that?” Darius inquired. An interrogation must sound like some kind of consolation prize.

Jim rubbed his eyes. “No, you may not! Listen, buddy. I gotta go. I’ll see you tomorrow. I have to come back and change because I got paint on my clothes.” Darius laughed at him. “Yeah, yeah. Very funny. Get some sleep, all right? Bye.”

Emma took the phone back. “Can you send him that thing I took?” Jim asked. “I think it would make him happy.”

“You’re cousins, huh?” Emma asked, fiddling with her phone. “What happened to his parents?”

Jim and Darius never quite landed on an answer to that question. “They’re dead,” Jim replied. “It’s complicated.”

“Trust me,” said Emma. “Our family knows a thing or two about complicated. I’m going to give my mom a call. She can swing by the station tomorrow with fresh clothes. I’m assuming you don’t have a lot to change into.”

Jim thought back to Jefferson’s wardrobe sitting bundled up in his closet. “No,” he said despondently. “We lost everything in the crash.” More and more lies. Jim was looking forward to this all being over. Finding Hook was going to be such a relief.

David walked over with a fresh cup of coffee in his hand. “Well, you’re welcome to borrow some of my things,” he offered.

“That’s asking way too much of you,” Jim replied. He didn’t want to impose, but he also had no other options. “I’d buy my own but…”

“You don’t have any money, we know,” David said understandingly. “You and everyone else on that death trap. We can’t tell you how sorry we are about all this.”

David was taking some unnecessary blame upon himself. “It’s not your fault,” Jim assured him. David bit down on his lip in a way that suggested that wasn’t totally true. “You two should get some sleep,” Jim told them. “I’ll take the first watch.” David handed Jim his coffee mug. Finally, some good fucking coffee.

Jim stayed up while David and Emma fell asleep at their desks. The first watch was going to take two hours. Jim searched the station for something to do. He read through every magazine in the lobby. This world’s culture was beyond bizarre to him. There were some books stacked near the holding cell. Presumably, these were for prisoners who got bored. Jim looked over at the Invisible Man. He had slumped over asleep too.

Between one and two in the morning, Jim poked David in the shoulder. “Your turn,” he said as David came to. David got up and let Jim have his spot at the desk. This was the second less-than-comfortable place he’d fallen asleep in Storybrooke, but it would have to do. Jim very quickly passed out cold and stayed that way until morning.

At around 10:45, Jim woke up to muffled yelling coming from the interrogation room. He peeled himself off of David’s desk and looked for the commotion. Through the window, he could see Emma and David looming over a desk. Opposite sat the Invisible Man, a mass of dry, flaky paint. Jim got up, rubbed his eyes, and walked over to Snow standing outside. He greeted her and they stood together watching the interrogation unfold.

“How do you think it's going in there?” Jim asked her.

“It doesn’t look like he’s telling them much. Although, he wiped the paint off his mouth, so it’s hard to tell. So far, we only know that his name is Thomas Marvel,” Snow explained. Strange. Maybe the book was wrong after all. “I brought you some clean clothes. I left them next to you on the desk.”

Jim looked over to where he had been sleeping. Somehow he managed to miss a small stack of clothes positioned right by his head.

“If you want to change, the bathroom is down the hall,” directed Snow.

Jim unfolded one of the shirts that Snow provided. It wasn’t anything fancy like Jefferson had, but that was for the best. These new clothes were perfect, ideal for blending in. There were even multiple sets! “This is too much, Snow. Thank you,” Jim said, genuinely touched by their generosity. “And thank David for me too.”

Snow smiled. “It’s the least we can do after you saved our lives,” she said. True enough.

Jim took his new shirt, slacks, and socks into the bathroom with him. As he peeled the layers of paint-encrusted clothes off, he caught a whiff of himself. “Good god, I need a shower,” he said to himself. He moistened a paper towel and wiped down the more offending areas as best he could. In the mirror, his hair was all over the place. He took out his hair ties and redid his ponytail. His hair was greasy as all hell, but that was another thing that would have to wait.

A few minutes later, Jim returned in his new clothes. They were slightly too big for him, but it wasn’t anything a belt and some rolled up pant legs couldn’t fix. When Jim came back, an attractive yet intimidating woman in a deep purple pantsuit also entered. She looked like she hadn’t smiled once in her life. Fortunately, Snow seemed to know her.

“Regina!” said Snow, surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“I heard we finally caught our burglar. I wanted to see it for myself.” Regina looked through the window at the vaguely human paint blob. “What the hell is that thing?”

Jim entered the conversation. “The floating mass of paint in the vague shape of a person? That would be the burglar.”

Regina was absolutely dumbstruck. She stared at the man through the window, trying to make heads or tails of the situation. Jim knew how to catch her up. He dug through the pockets of his coat – which Snow had graciously brought back to him – and found his copy of _The Invisible Man._ He handed it to Regina.

“Here,” said Jim. “This should get you up to speed.”

Regina took the book, but didn’t look at it. “I’m sorry. Who are you?”

Snow thankfully cut in. “Regina, this is Philip. He’s one of the survivors of the airship crash. He and his cousin are detectives and they helped us catch the burglar.”

Regina put on a grateful smile. She wasn't quite as intimidating when she smiled. “Thank you for your service to our town,” she said kindly. She then remembered the book in her hands. “So, this burglar has his own story. No surprise there.” She looked down at the cover and read the title. For a moment, it was just a book. Then something clicked. Regina’s eyes grew so wide, you’d have thought the Devil himself was standing right in front of her.

“Oh, shit,” she said.

Regina looked back into the interrogation room, joined by Jim and Snow. Inside the room, things were getting heated. Emma and David were facing off against a pair of angry red eyes and they appeared be losing the battle.

“If you don’t know us, why were you trying to kill us? You attacked us twice!” David demanded.

“I was just trying to rob you,” Thomas said unconvincingly. “It was a coincidence.”

David scoffed. “Coincidence? You came at my wife with a knife!”

Emma stared straight into Thomas’s eyes. “You could have just stood in the corner till they left. You didn’t kill anyone to get those other things you took. I know when people lie to me, Thomas. Fess up!”

Thomas Marvel – if that was his real name – wasn’t intimidated. “Don’t I get a lawyer or something? I distinctly recall having the right to an attorney.”

David sighed and changed tactics. “We don’t have time for this. If we agree to go easy on you, will you please tell us what Hyde’s been planning and why he wanted us dead? You did it for him, right?”

“No,” said Thomas with a snicker. “Hyde doesn’t give two shits about you. Aside from, you know, locking him up in the loony bin.”

“Who is it then?” David pounded his fist on the wooden table. Thomas’s invisible lips were sealed.

Emma growled in frustration. David tugged at his hair. They both left the room and met Snow, Jim, and Regina outside.

“He’s not telling us anything,” Emma informed them.

Regina set the book aside. “We know,” she replied patronizingly.

Jim stood up. “Let me have a few minutes with him,” he asked. “I’ve got some questions for him too.” David ushered Jim into the interrogation room.

“Well, look who got some fancy new threads,” the Invisible Man teased.

“Shut up!” Jim was not in the mood. “I have some questions for you, Thomas, and you had better start answering them.” Jim took the seat opposite him. David and Emma stood in the corners watching.

Thomas laughed a single dry laugh. “And if I don’t?”

Jim took out his knife. Everyone took a step back. David began to intervene, but Jim threw out his other hand to silence him. “Then you can find out just how much I enjoy making you bleed.”

“Can I at least get something to eat first?” Thomas requested flippantly.

“I haven’t eaten yet. You don’t hear me complaining,” Jim quipped back at him. Jim drove his knife into the table and left it there. “Ever since you got here, you’ve been robbing random locations. But they haven’t all been random, have they? You’ve been stealing books – specifically fiction, fiction that relates to people in this town or people aboard the _Albatross_. Hyde, for instance. Then at the school, something happens. You drop the books you were stealing and go flying out the window. Next thing we know, you’re trying to murder Snow White. Why were you stealing books for Hyde and what made you switch to attempting to kill the Nolans?”

Thomas laughed again, but his eyes showed no humor. “You’re good. Maybe you actually are a detective after all. You want to know about the books? I hate to disappoint you, but I don’t know why the hell Hyde wants 'em. He hired me to find some storybooks for him. I didn’t ask questions. I've been in this business long enough to know, if people want you to know something, they'll tell you. As for the night at the school...” His voice trailed off.

“What? What!” Jim shouted.

Thomas’s form expanded and contracted, like he was taking a very deep breath. “I’m not at liberty to say.”

“Why not?” Jim snarled. He pulled his knife out of the table.

“I can’t tell you that either. And, in spite of what I just said, it's not because I don't want you to know.”

Jim stood up and leaned over the table, casting a shadow over Thomas’s face. “Do you have some kind of vendetta against the Nolans?”

“No!” Thomas insisted. “I’ve never even met these people before.”

Jim had a eureka moment. “But the person who took control of you that night at the school does. Am I right?” Jim stared Thomas down, waiting for him to crack.

Thomas hesitated, then silently nodded yes.

“Are you still under their control now?” Jim asked him, thrilled to finally be getting somewhere.

Thomas nodded again.

“Can they hear what you’re saying?” asked Jim, suddenly realizing the delicacy of the situation. He put his knife away.

Thomas nodded a third time.

Emma stepped forward. “What can we do to help you?”

The Invisible Man began to laugh in earnest, but it was a sad laugh. “There’s nothing you can do for me, sweetheart. I’m already done for.”

“Done for? What are you talking about?” David asked, stepping past Jim into the light.

“Look, I didn’t want to hurt you. Believe me, if I’d really been trying, you’d all be dead already. Now I’m not doing anymore talking!” Thomas insisted. “Whatever Mr. Tough Guy with the knife wants to do to me, it’s gonna be a million times worse if I rat her out!”

Jim lifted his empty hands to show that using his knife on Thomas was no longer on the table. “Who is ‘her’?” Jim asked calmly.

Thomas stomped his foot and cursed himself, his last remaining way to express frustration. “You know what? Fuck it! She’s not coming to get me. I’m useless to her now. There’s no getting out of here alive. You wanna know who’s been controlling me? The one who wants the 'Charmings' dead? It’s-” Thomas’s confession was cut short by a cry of pain.

Emma rushed to his side. “What’s going on? What’s happening?”

“My heart,” Thomas grunted. “She has my….” His breathing was growing shallow. He let out another agonized scream.

David approached and kneeled beside him. “Who’s doing this? You’ve gotta tell us. Please!”

Thomas turned his head to the window. Regina was looking at him through the frame. They locked eyes. “You wanna know?” Thomas said weakly. “Ask her.” And, with that, Thomas keeled over dead.

After his death rattle, his body slowly faded into view beneath the paint. As different parts appeared at different rates, they all got a good look inside his body. Very briefly, before the materializing flesh covered it up, they saw a tangled, pulsing mess of veins and arteries where Thomas’s heart should be. Eventually, they were left with a naked, paint-spattered corpse lying face down on the table.

For a moment, there was silence. Emma opened the door. “Can someone get a towel or something so we can cover this guy up?” she requested. “He’s...”

“We saw,” said Snow solemnly.

She left in search of a shroud for Thomas’s body. The best she was able to find were the paint-soaked towels from Emma’s car. It wasn’t very dignified. They’d have to do better later. They all sat down around the coffee table, mugs of fresh coffee in each of their hands. After a long, uncomfortable silence, Regina was the first to speak.

“I suppose you’re all wondering why the man covered in paint was looking at me when he died,” she said tensely. There was a general nodding of heads. Regina looked at Jim. “Can he leave? This is sort of personal business.”

“Regina, Philip and his cousin have been hunting down Thomas for a while. If it’s pertinent to the case, I think they should hear it,” said Snow.

Regina pinched the bridge of her nose. She turned to Jim. “Fine. Be forewarned. There’s a lot of backstory to this and I’m not taking the time to give you a summary. If you have questions, ask one of them later.”

Jim nodded in understanding. This promised to be one hell of a ride. Regina turned back to Snow and David.

“You know how, back in the Enchanted Forest, I kept trying new ways to find you and kill you?” Regina asked them. The promise was already met in spades.

“I can’t seem to recall,” said Snow with an uncharacteristic amount of sarcasm.

Regina pressed on. “I started running out of ideas, so I visited some other worlds looking for… inspiration. In one, I found Dr. Jack Griffin, the original Invisible Man. He was at death’s door when I found him, the tail end of his story. I kept him alive just long enough to find the location of his lab.

“That’s where I met this poor son of a bitch. He was trying to replicate Griffin’s work. I gave him the opportunity. I brought Thomas to Ingary with the Hat, where he’d have all the time in the world to perfect it. A year or so later, he’d done it. Then I did something not unlike your little paint trick and I took his heart as payment for my assistance.

“I thought an invisible assassin would be good to have on retainer," Regina told them. "I never got around to using him though. He built quite a life for himself in Ingary. He founded the Invisible Man Inn as a front while stealing priceless items on the side. I don’t know what he was doing working for Hyde though. Stealing storybooks seems a bit beneath him.”

Jim’s mind was still stuck on the whole heart-taking thing. Astounded, he asked, “You took his heart? How did you...?”

“Magic,” said Emma, Regina, David, and Snow in chorus.  

“So, you could use his heart to control him?” Jim asked, still not quite believing his ears.

Regina rattled off a heart’s practical uses. “Control him, talk through him, kill him, whatever you want really.”

Jim was having a hard time processing all this. The magic in Ingary was never this intense. “So who has his heart now?” Jim asked.

"If he's dead, that means whoever had it, crushed it," Regina explained.

“It would have been in your crypt though, right?” Emma asked. “With all the other ones?” Other ones? Did Regina make a hobby out of this? Who was this woman?

“Yes, which is sealed with blood magic. Also, his heart was invisible. Anyone who came across it would just see an empty box,” Regina explained. She acted very aloof and detached, like she didn’t want to associate herself with the abominable things she had done. Jim couldn’t exactly blame her.

Snow had a thought. “If it’s sealed by blood magic, that means the only people who could enter the crypt are you and… Zelena,” she said with trepidation.

“Who’s Zelena?” asked Jim. Her name was a foul presence that hung in the air.

Regina scowled. “My sister.”

A few hours later, after Thomas had been taken to the morgue, Zelena was brought to the interrogation room. If Jim thought Regina was cold and humorless, she was nothing compared to her sister. If looks could kill, they all would have been ash in seconds. Snow took care of Zelena's infant daughter Robin while she was being questioned. Zelena alternated between sending silly faces to her child in the lobby and staring daggers at Emma, David, and Regina inside.

Jim didn’t get to properly introduce himself, and that suited him just fine. Zelena looked like she could kill a man a hundred different ways with a toothpick. Jim didn’t need a close look at that. He was perfectly content to look at her through the interrogation room window and turn his head whenever they made eye contact.

Zelena didn’t really look much like her sister, Jim noticed. She had flaming red hair and ivory skin, unlike Regina’s raven locks and olive complexion. They also sounded nothing alike, possessing accents that must have come from completely different worlds. Maybe one was adopted. That reminded Jim to get back to Darius as soon as possible.

“And just why am I a suspect?” Zelena asked, when told about Thomas’s attempted murders of Snow and David.

Regina sat down with her. “Thomas’s heart was sealed inside my vault. You know it’s sealed with blood magic. You’re the only other person who could have opened it.”

“Couldn’t he exonerate me?” she asked, as if it was really going to be that simple.

“He could,” said Emma, “but he’s dead.”

Zelena huffed. “I can assure you I didn’t send some Invisible Man to bump off Snow and David. Regina was the one with the vendetta, not me. And even if I did unlock your vault, how would I know which heart was his? I’ve been in there before. It’s not like you keep them labeled. Dust the box for fingerprints if you like. I haven’t touched a thing.”

As requested, Emma took Zelena’s prints. “I’ll have you know, it's highly insulting that you immediately assumed it was me,” Zelena groused.

“Sorry, Zelena,” Emma said, pressing her fingertips into the ink. “We go where the evidence takes us. Right now, you’re the only lead we’ve got. We’ll check the vault for prints and your name should be cleared by tomorrow.”

Zelena stormed out of the room wiping the ink from her fingertips onto her black dress. Snow handed Robin back to her. Zelena broke into a smile so sweet and sincere, it was like Jim had been looking at two separate people. How could someone’s face light up so easily after spewing all the bile it could muster at everyone else in the room?

She disappeared with her daughter in a puff of smoke. That made a total of three witches so far. Jim had a feeling that, despite her unpleasantness, Zelena was innocent. The feeling was echoed by the others in the room, but that still left no explanation of who got a hold of Thomas’s heart and how.

 

* * *

 

What Zelena neglected to tell them was that, while she didn't break into Regina’s vault herself, she was an accomplice to the person who did. Zelena and a hooded figure visited the mausoleum two nights before her visit to the police station. Zelena kept watch as the figure pricked their finger and touched it to the mausoleum door. The doors parted for them on their own and they went inside.

They descended the stairs into the chamber where Regina kept all of the hearts she had taken over the years. They glowed red inside their little boxes, stacked neatly against a wall.

“Let’s see. Which one? Which one?” said the figure, a woman. She opened several boxes before finding what she was searching for. “Aha! Here it is.”

Zelena peered over her shoulder. The cloaked woman was looking into an empty box. “Um, there’s nothing there,” Zelena said. The woman took something out and passed it to Zelena. She massaged it in her hands until she knew what it was. “An invisible heart? What the devil are you going to do with this?”

The woman took off her hood. It was Regina. She had switched out her trademark pantsuit for an extravagant gown, but it was definitely her. “I’m just calling upon the services of an old friend,” she said. “Ever hear of a story called _The Invisible Man_?”

Zelena tried to recall. “I think I saw it on display at the library. Why?”

“For my little plan to work, I first have to get the Charmings out of my way,” she explained with an air of menace. “You know how they like to meddle. And Thomas here is going to help.”

Zelena didn’t like the tone in her sister’s voice. “How exactly?”

Regina’s lip curled into a smile. “By doing what he does best,” she said cryptically.

They left the mausoleum and Regina sealed the door. Holding the heart, she shrouded herself again with the hood. Zelena stood there, looking at Regina’s fingers clutch what looked like empty air.

“Thanks for all the help, sis,” said Regina, strutting away into the graveyard. “I’m glad we’re finally bonding like Mom wanted. Don’t worry. When this is all done, you’ll get your due.” Zelena was about to protest, but Regina vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving Zelena alone in the cemetery.

From where she stood, Zelena could see the grave of Robin Hood, Regina’s recently departed love. A bouquet of arrows adorned his tombstone. Zelena held Baby Robin in her arms, thinking about the role she played in her father’s death. Why was Regina still so obsessed with Snow White, when she ought to be angry with her? Zelena vanished them away to the farm house they shared. Robin was quiet that night, but Zelena still couldn’t sleep a wink.

 

* * *

 

After filling out the remainder of their paperwork, everyone at the station went their separate ways. Emma had to go meet her boyfriend and son on their return from their hiking trip. Regina had mayoral duties, which she did not go into detail about. David and Snow, however, stayed behind for Jim.

“Hey, Phil, do you want a ride to Granny’s?” David offered. “We heading there to pick up Neal.”

Jim finished putting on his jacket and picked up the rest of his clothes. “That would be amazing,” he said, fast-walking to the door before David locked up. Avoiding another long trip across town? He couldn’t ask for more. He settled into the back seat of Snow’s car.

Snow adjusted her mirror. “We were thinking of maybe grabbing some lunch and then taking Darius out to get some new clothes. Is that all right with you?” asked Snow.

These people were too much. Still, it wouldn’t be fair to Darius if Jim said no. “He would love that. Thank you so much. For everything.”

“We should be thanking you. Is this is your first ride in a car?” Snow asked as she backed out of the parking space.

“No, Darius and I got to ride in Emma’s car, on our way to save you from Thomas,” Jim told her, slowing down toward the end.

Snow did her best to smile, but the memory was still fresh and unpleasant. “We could have been goners without you,” she said to him sincerely. “You’re a remarkable guy, Philip. You and Darius, both.”

Jim let out something somewhere between a laugh and a cough. “Darius, sure. I don’t know about me.”

David hopped into the front passenger’s seat and they drove off. The drive to Granny’s wasn’t very long, but Jim shuddered to think how long the walk would have been. He’d have to make it again shortly to bring Nadir his next meal. They parked and walked inside.

While Snow took Neal from an exhausted-looking Granny, Jim climbed the stairs to fetch Darius. The kid was dutifully reading when he found him. After Jim told him the bad news – the Invisible Man died – and the good news – Snow wanted to buy him stuff - they went downstairs for a nice lunch. They laughed about Jim’s recording of Thomas’s arrest, mainly how poorly Jim had filmed it.

At the table with Snow and David, Darius ordered himself another grilled cheese. Jim felt adventurous. He ordered a sandwich that came with something called avocado. They talked mostly about pleasant but inconsequential things. Snow asked Jim and Darius questions about their home and family. The meal quickly became another exercise in dishonesty. Jim sincerely hoped Snow wouldn’t get too nosy while she and Darius were out shopping.

After David had paid for lunch, Snow left the diner with Darius and Neal. Jim rounded the corner to the stairs, but David stopped him.

“Phil! Hold on a second,” David said. “I really want to thank you for all you’ve done to help my family. Seriously, it could have been over for us yesterday. I can’t thank you enough.”

“You have thanked me enough, really,” Jim told him, holding up the small pile of clothes and his box of leftovers.

“Listen,” David continued. “Tomorrow, we were planning on having a picnic in the park after my grandson has his first sailing lesson. We're gonna take a ride on the boat with him and have lunch after. It’s sort of an end of summer family thing. You and Darius are welcome to join us if you like.”

It would be an easy opportunity to smuggle Nadir some food. They sure didn’t have anywhere else to be. “Sure!” said Jim enthusiastically. “Sounds like fun. Who all is coming?”

“You and Darius, me, Henry, Snow, Hook, Emma’s boyfriend, and Emma,” David listed. “And Neal, of course.”

Jim could hardly believe his ears. The ticking clock, which Jim had all but forgotten about, was jumping up and down inside his pocket. Every other sound either harmonized or was drowned out completely. It was a symphony only Jim could hear.

“Hook? As in Captain Hook?” he inquired, trying not to sound too invested.

“Yeah, he’s gonna be showing Henry the ropes. Literally,” David joked. Jim laughed along with him, pretending his mind wasn’t simultaneously shooting off fireworks and sharpening swords.

This was it. It was almost too easy. Three days and Jim already was finally getting his hands on Captain Hook. How widely could Jim grin without unsettling David?

“What time?” asked Jim.

“One o’clock at the docks,” David replied.

“One o’clock at the docks,” Jim repeated. “We’ll be there.”

David insisted on giving Jim a big, brotherly hug before leaving. He was so tall, Jim was brought to the tips of his toes. After giving him two hard pats on the back, David followed his wife out the door.

Jim waved goodbye, struggling to keep all of his excitement and energy bottled until he could slink off to the privacy of his room. He nearly ran into Ruby on his way to the stairs. She smiled but he still recoiled, remembering the giant wolf from last night. It didn’t keep him down for long though.

Jim’s mind was buzzing as he climbed the stairs to his room. He took the watch out and listened to it tick. The hands were mesmerizing, they spun so fast. So much so that he slipped and fell once or twice. Captain Hook was so close, Jim could almost smell him. In Jim’s imagination, Hook smelled like low tide.

Of course, Jim had interpreted “Hook” and “Emma’s boyfriend” to be two separate items on David’s list of people. He was in for quite a surprise the next day. But today, Jim shut his door, tore off his jacket, and danced to the rhythm of his watch.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should note that some events in the Once Upon a Time canon are different in this story, like swapping out the Count of Monte Cristo for the Invisible Man. 
> 
> For example, there was no romance between Hades and Zelena. Hades became a villain after the Olympians abducted Persephone and cursed him to never leave the Underworld. Persephone returns and sends the new Dark One - Cruella de Vil - off to hell forever. Hades, redeemed, lets the heroes return to Storybrooke, although Robin still dies during their journey. 
> 
> King Arthur was really Mordred in disguise. Emma's Dark One mentor was Rothbart from 'Swan Lake'. And the Ursula that Ariel made her deal with is the one and only Ursula. If there's a continuity error, it's likely intentional.


	5. Siren Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Evil Queen sends Ariel to finish an untold story. Meanwhile, the Jolly Roger is attacked by sirens and Jim must come to the rescue. What Jim sees onboard the ship shatters him.

_"Give me this moment, this precious chance. I'll gather up my past and make some sense at last! This is the moment when all I've done, all the dreaming, scheming, and screaming become one! This is the day - see it sparkle and shine - when all I've lived for becomes mine!"_ \- "This Is the Moment", _Jekyll & Hyde_

* * *

"What are you doing?" asked a frightened, red-haired woman magically caught in fish netting. "Why do you have that book?"

Regina smiled to herself. She was wearing another extravagant gown, holding a large leather-bound storybook in her hands.

"You once made a deal with a friend of mine. Your voice for some legs," Regina recounted to her, opening the book. "You even signed a contract for it."

The younger woman struggled against her restraints. It was no use. She was at Regina's mercy.

"Then your sisters decided to bail you out - on one condition," Regina continued. She found part of the book where some pages had been removed. "The Sea Witch wanted you to murder your precious prince and the girl he chose over you. But you wouldn't do it, even if it meant your life."

"Queen Mab used the dagger on herself. She died in my place," the woman said defiantly. “The deal is done.”

Regina turned around. She was holding some additional pages. "Funny," said Regina, "that's not how the Author remembers it at all. It seems he thinks you went through with it." Regina placed the loose pages into the book. She worked some magic over them and the pages rejoined the book's binding.

"What did you just do?" asked the woman, confused and afraid.

"I put your story back in the book where it belongs. If my new friend knows his stuff, that means, one way or another, your story is going to play itself out." With a snap of her fingers, Regina released the netting keeping the woman prisoner. She tossed a dagger at the woman's feet. "Remember this? Give Eric and Ella my best before running them through with it."

The woman struggled to resist it, but the more she resisted, the more she only cried out in pain. It only ended when she relented and took hold of the dagger. Looking at it in her hand, she began to sob.

”I suppose there’s one more thing,” said Regina, indifferent to her pain. “We really can’t have you talking, now can we?”

The woman tried to back away, but was cornered against a tree. “No! Please!”

Regina picked up the poor girl by the throat and used her magic to drag the sound straight out of her mouth. She dropped her. The woman was compelled to pick up the dagger again. She tried to cry out, but she was rendered mute. Tears began streaming down her face.

Regina chuckled. “Now this is the story I remember.”

* * *

In his revelry, Jim slipped on the hardwood and fell onto Darius’s bedding. He simply laughed it off, too overjoyed by his coming victory to care. Jim sat up, remembering the shower he so desperately needed. Then he noticed the book Darius had been reading when he came to fetch him for lunch. It was _Treasure Island_.

“Shit!” Jim hissed, scrambling for the novel. He turned it right side-up. Darius was already two-thirds of the way through the book. “Fuck, he's a fast reader.” Jim should have hidden the book the second he got it home, but his attention had been torn in too many different directions. Jim put his shower on hold. He had to know exactly what Darius had read.

Jim kept one finger tucked between the pages Darius had ended on. He needed to start at the very beginning. There wasn’t time to read the book thoroughly, so Jim scanned each page for key words.

According to the book, the young Jim Hawkins received a treasure map from an old pirate named Billy Bones. That was correct. Soon after, Billy suffered a fatal stroke and died. Not quite. Jim’s father had also recently died. Very wrong. Jim’s father abandoned him and his mother when Jim was only ten years old. Jim had been helping her manage her inn by the docks ever since.

Two family friends, Dr. Livesey and Squire Trelawney, helped him decipher the treasure map. Insultingly untrue. Jim figured the whole thing out on his own. They did, however, buy a ship and hire a full crew for their treasure hunt. Jim was made cabin boy, much to his chagrin, and made an unlikely friendship with the cook, Long John Silver. This was the point where the plot diverged significantly from Jim’s recollection.

When Jim heard Silver discussing the mutiny, he had been talking to Liam Jones, Killian's brother. When the mutiny happened, Jim fled with Killian into the island's jungle with the map. They were side by side through the rest of the story. Jim and Killian experienced so many of life’s firsts on that island together. First love, first kiss, first… Actually, Jim was grateful that part had been cut from the book.

Still, Jim and Killian had been equal partners in their adventure, but Robert Louis Stevenson excised him from the story completely. Jim put the book back where he found it. He was half-relieved that Darius didn’t stumble across his secret, and half-saddened that the love he found on that journey wasn’t important enough to be even a footnote in Stevenson's story. Killian had been erased from Jim’s life twice over, and it enraged him all the more.

It didn’t matter though. So what if history never knew the love Jim and Killian had shared? It wasn’t as if Jim had been shouting it from the rooftops. Most of their relationship had been a secret. It’s no surprise Mr. Stevenson didn’t see fit to leave it in.

Jim retreated to the bathroom, stripped, and took a shower. He so infrequently encountered indoor plumbing. Heated indoor plumbing was even rarer. He’d gladly give up a proper bed forever if that meant hot showers. He dried himself and dressed again in the clothes David gifted him.

His hair was still wet when there was a knock at the door. Jim opened it to find Darius, absolutely glowing with joy. He was carrying at least four shopping bags of various sizes.

“Hi, Jim!” Darius greeted him cheerily. “Snow and I had so much fun shopping today. Check out all this stuff I got!” Darius pulled out pairs of denim pants, shirts, and a lovely new coat. “She said it’s going to be fall soon. We’ll need warmer clothes.” Darius folded everything neatly and placed it into the one of the empty dresser drawers.

“Oh! This one’s for you,” Darius told him, holding up another bag. “Snow said you’d probably need it.”

Jim looked inside. The bag contained a new shaving kit, various hygiene items, and more pairs of socks. There was also a package of men’s undergarments featuring a model that made Jim just slightly hot under the collar. He blushed and put that back in the bag. There were some other handy knickknacks too, plus a note.

_If you two ever need anything, just give us a call. – Snow_

She wrote their telephone numbers beneath the note. Jim set that and the bag of sundry items on the table. He found a comb inside, and thanked the gods for it. He began combing out his long hair in the mirror, through which he saw Darius pick up _Treasure Island._

“I hope you don’t mind,” said Darius. “I started reading your story. I wondered why you wanted this book from the library so bad.”

Jim acted unfazed and kept combing. “Oh yeah? What did you think?” Jim asked. It really didn’t matter what Darius thought of it. Half the book was lies anyway.

“Did all this really happen to you?” Darius asked, opening the book back up.

Jim shrugged. “More or less.”

“And this happened when you were seventeen?” Darius was astounded that someone so young made such a perilous journey.

Jim nodded. “Yeah, almost eighteen, although the book said I was about your age.”

“So this is why you became a pirate hunter,” Darius surmised. He sat back in bed and picked up reading where he left off.

That wasn’t exactly the truth, but it did give Jim the knowhow when he made his career change. “Yep,” Jim confirmed. “That’s where it all began.”

“What about your friend? The one that got killed by Hook? Wasn’t he a part of it?” Detectives. Always making connections.

“He was,” Jim answered. “I was a dock worker when Killian died. It allowed me to stay close to my mom, who was not doing well at the time. After she passed and I got the news about Killian, that’s when I got into the pirate hunting business. And, let me tell you, business was booming.”

Jim wrapped his wet hair in a towel. Darius laughed at him. “You look like a djinn!” he said. Jim rolled his eyes. It was the curse of having long hair. Darius rummaged through Jim’s bag of goodies. “Snow said you might want this for your hair.” It was strange looking apparatus. Jim examined the package. It was a hair dryer.

Jim had to use the same knife he slashed Thomas's leg with to open the packaging. He took it to the bathroom and put the plug in the outlet. Jim was not expecting the gust of hot air when he turned it on. He got the hang of it in a minute or so. “Where has this been all my life?”

“You could always just wear your hair short,” Darius suggested. “You’d look less like a girl that way.”

Jim brushed off Darius’s little barb. Jim had thought about cutting his hair shorter several times in his life. But long ago, a certain someone told Jim how much he loved his long hair. Jim never cut it shorter than the base of his neck again. Jim’s beard was due for a trim though.

“Did Snow mention that they’re inviting us to lunch tomorrow in the park?” Jim asked.

The sound of the blow dryer was fairly loud. "No!" Darius called from the other room.

“Yeah, after Emma’s son has a sailing lesson, we’re all going to sit down for a picnic. It’ll be an easy way to smuggle Nadir some food.” Jim left out the part about meeting Hook. “Speaking of, we should probably head down there now. We can’t let the poor guy go hungry.”

Darius was a bit put out. “I already did a ton of walking today!”

“You can show him all your new stuff,” Jim said, turning off the hair dryer.

Darius sprang off his bed and began shoving the best items from his treasure haul into one bag. Children. They love showing things to grownups. “Like cats leaving mice on your doorstep,” Jim thought.

Jim had never been interested in being a father. Even if he was, such things usually entailed finding a wife first. Jim’s few attempts at courting women were abject failures, not because of a lack of attractiveness, but because of an utter lack of interest. He quickly learned such relationships were doomed from the start.

“You know,” Jim thought, “if we wait for a bit, we could have dinner and then go see Nadir. Maybe then he’ll quit complaining about portion size.”

And so they did. Darius continued reading _Treasure Island_. Jim wasn’t enthused, but he allowed it. Jim picked up _The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_. Jim hadn’t worked for Hyde for very long. He acquired some cargo for him. That was about it. Hyde was a private man and kept the purpose of the things Jim brought him to himself. Jim was a bit like Thomas in that way. Jim always figured Hyde had secrets. However, he didn’t expect anything quite like this.

“Darius,” Jim began, “Mr. Hyde is two people.” Darius crawled to the edge of the bed and sat down, already engrossed. “Dr. Henry Jekyll… something about a serum… and he turns into Edward Hyde. Hyde isn’t even a person. He’s this dark side to whoever this Jekyll guy is! Why have I never met Jekyll before?”

Darius took the book from him. “How do we know that’s even true?” he asked, flipping through the pages.

“These books have their inaccuracies,” Jim said, “but they’ve got the broad strokes right. Jekyll and Hyde being two people in one is pretty fundamental to the plot. Hyde couldn’t possibly have access to the serum in the hospital. It must be Jekyll in there. Maybe he could help us! We can talk to Emma and David tomorrow… tomorrow.” Tomorrow was the day he’d meet Hook. No matter. Jim could multitask.

Jim and Darius quickly ate, boxed up their remaining food, and trekked down to the woods beyond the park. Thankfully, this time Nadir was sitting out in the open, reading _The Phantom of the Opera_. He quickly hid it behind him when he saw Jim and Darius approach.

Jim set the boxes of food next to him. He stretched and groaned, tired. “So, we’ve had an interesting couple of days.”

“Do tell,” said Nadir, reaching for the French dip sandwich in the top box. “Where did you get the new clothes? Let me guess…”

“They were gifts from Snow White and David,” Jim declared. “They were very grateful after we helped them catch the Invisible Man.”

Jim sat down on the ground, crossing his legs. The earth was more rock than dirt, so his pants would be fine. Darius showed Nadir some of the presents Snow had bought for him. Nadir feigned interest. There were more important matters at hand. “So, you really got him?”

Jim recounted the whole story, from the successful trap at the house to Thomas’s untimely death at the police station. “He was going to tell us who was controlling him, but whoever it was killed him by crushing his heart. Also, I guess you can just magically rip out a person’s heart? We didn’t really learn much. Hyde wanted the storybooks for some secret reason and someone out there wants Snow and David dead. The mayor’s sister is the only suspect so far, but I really don’t think it was her.”

“And we’re right back to square one on Svengali,” Nadir sighed.

“Not necessarily,” said Jim. Jim explained all about Hyde’s split personality and how Hyde’s good half was probably the one sitting in the cell at the hospital. “I think Jekyll might be able to help us.”

Nadir perked up. “Good. Then you can go tomorrow.”

“Um… tomorrow might not be the best day,” Jim said vaguely. “The Nolans invited us to a picnic over in the park here. We’ll be able to get you  _so_ much food. And we’ll need to ask their permission before entering the ‘jail’ anyway, so… We can visit Jekyll the day after probably.”

Jim looked around for Darius. It appeared that he had found some more flowers to press. Now that Darius was out of earshot, Jim whispered, “Hook is going to be at the picnic.” Nadir was about to spout off some unsolicited concerns or advice. “Now obviously, I can’t catch him there. There’s too many people. It will, however, lay the groundwork I need for later. I didn’t come here just to help you find some freak in a mask, remember?”

Nadir dabbed at his mouth. “So you’re bringing Darius to have lunch with the most dangerous pirate to sail the seven seas.”

“I feel like there’s a serious double standard here,” Jim rebutted. “He’s gonna be teaching Emma’s son how to sail. I don’t think he’s a danger to children. As far as I can tell, everybody around here thinks he’s just great. He must have them so fooled.”

Jim felt like he was describing himself. The liar and would-be killer getting showered with thanks and gifts. Jim wasn’t a hero and the whole thing made him feel a bit sick.

“Well, thank you very much for the update. And the food,” said Nadir, standing up. “I’m glad to see that one of us is making some progress. I’ve been scouting out this whole town from the sides, but there’s not the slightest sign of Svengali.”

Jim grabbed Darius’s bag. “Hopefully Jekyll will have some answers,” he said.

Together, Jim and Darius walked back into town. Midway through the port, Jim stopped dead in his tracks. He didn’t know how he missed it before, but moored at the docks was a massive pirate ship. “That wasn’t there yesterday,” Jim remarked, cautiously approaching for a closer look. It flew the skull and crossbones. The stern read “The Jolly Roger” in fading gold paint. It was Captain Hook’s ship.

“Is that a pirate ship?” Darius asked, pointing to the behemoth of a boat.

Jim had to take a few deep breaths. He knew Hook was in town, but seeing the ship made everything so real. “Yep. You are looking at _The Jolly Roger_ , Dar.”

“He’s here!” Darius cheered. “You’re really gonna get him!”

Jim nodded resolutely. That was precisely what he intended to do, although not quite how Darius thought. Jim tore his eyes away from the ship and they made their way back to Granny’s.

It wasn’t very late. Without an Invisible Man to catch, Jim wasn’t completely sure what to do with himself. He guessed his options were to finish his reading – which sounded like a chore – or to drop Darius off at the room and pay another visit to The Rabbit Hole. Maybe Jefferson was working again. If need be, he could always say the money he took was gifted from Snow or David.

Jim told Darius he was stepping out for a bit. He strolled down to the bar and, sure enough, Jefferson was there. “How many vests can one man own?” Jim thought to himself as he watched Jefferson skewer an olive with a toothpick and place it in what looked like pure water. He sat down at a bar stool and waited for Jefferson to notice.

“Hey,” Jim greeted casually. He set his elbow on the countertop and rested his head on his fist. “Long time, no see.” Jim smiled. He dialed it back a bit. Flirting only works with plausible deniability.

Jefferson didn’t seem quite as happy to see Jim. “Hey… back for another Jolly Roger?” he asked. He added, “ _Killian?_ ” with an odd tone.

Jim laughed, not really noticing. “No, I’ve still got the bottle back at my room. I came here for the atmosphere mostly.”

“Well, the bar is for customers only,” Jefferson told him tersely. He must just be overworked.

Jim counted his money. “What would you recommend for a guy who’s never tried this world’s liquor before? I mean, rum is rum wherever you go.”

Jefferson thought about it. Then an idea struck him. It wasn’t completely related to bartending. “If you’d like to try everything at once, I make a mean Long Island Iced Tea. Sadly, it contains no actual tea.”

“Sounds great,” Jim said, up for anything. "I love islands." Jim removed his foot from his mouth again and just let the man work. Within minutes, Jefferson set the drink in front of him with a lemon wedge on the rim. Jim took a sip. Holy fuck, it was strong! Jim didn’t let it show on his face though. He took another drink.

“I’m supposed to ask for ID, you know,” Jefferson informed him. “But I vaguely recall you telling Izzy that you lost it in the blimp crash. Convenient.”

Jim didn’t have a response. He had to admit, it was very convenient while running around under an assumed name. He took one more sip, never giving away how much it burned.

“I like the new look,” Jefferson said, eyeing Jim’s change in wardrobe.

“Yeah, I’m not wearing your clothes for once,” Jim did not say.

Jefferson nonchalantly asked, “Did you ever run into Hook, by any chance?”

Jim had to control the direction of the conversation before the alcohol got to him. “No, not yet. He’s probably moved on to some other town. He never really stays in one place too long. Oh! We caught the guy who robbed you, by the way.”

“Really?” Jefferson inquired, actually interested to know.

“Some guy named Thomas Marvel. You might know him from a book called _The Invisible Man_. Unfortunately, he died while in custody, so I don’t think you’ll be getting your stuff back,” Jim told him.

Jefferson was astounded. After processing all this, Jefferson said, “It's fine. I can buy new stuff.” Jim was already well aware of that.

“Do you know much about magic?” asked Jim. Jefferson shrugged. He wobbled his hand as if to say "a little." “Somebody had been using Thomas's heart to force him to commit crimes. They killed him with it before he had the chance to talk. Just how common an event is this?”

Jefferson was at a temporary loss for words. “Among black magic users, fairly common.”

“Does anyone here besides the Mills sisters practice black magic?” Jim asked, halfway through his drink. “They’re our only leads, but I don’t think they’re guilty.”

Jefferson thought for a moment. “There’s Mr. Gold, the pawnbroker. Although, these days, he’s mostly retired. I knew him back in his heyday. You wouldn’t want to meet him in a dark alley. I think it’s just the three of them. I _hope_ it’s just the three of them.”

“Interesting,” Jim said, mulling it over.

“So how exactly do you know Hook?” Jefferson asked, shifting the conversation back precisely where Jim did not want it. He stealthily pushed Jim’s drink closer to him. Jim, not noticing, polished it off.

Jim quickly crafted a story. The best lies were always true. It was harder with alcohol in his system, which was why Jefferson was trying so hard to get him drunk.

“I met him on a voyage to find some treasure,” Jim said. “I ran into him again when I enrolled in the Naval Academy. I later dropped out and started doing dock work. That was about when Darius started living with us. My family, I mean. We started our little detective agency and, after my mother died, we moved to Ingary. We lost touch with Hook a while back, but he’s the kind of guy you can’t help but hear stories about.”

Was Jefferson buying it? Jim couldn’t be sure. Coming in there was a mistake. Why did he do it? Just for a drink and a pretty face? Those things would be the death of him one day. The lead about the pawnbroker was good information though. Jim needed to quit while he was ahead.

“How much for the iced tea?” Jim asked Jefferson.

“Nine bucks,” said Jefferson.

“Bucks?” asked Jim, confused. “Like deer?”

“Dollars. It’s a – what’s the word – colloquialism,” explained Jefferson.

Jim handed Jefferson a ten dollar bill. He got the change, left a handsome tip in Jefferson’s jar, and quickly took off.

Jefferson watched him leave, not certain if his suspicions were misplaced or not. He certainly didn’t learn anything helpful. "Killian" didn’t seem particularly dangerous, but his obviously fake name was still something of concern. Jefferson thought about calling the real Killian Jones again later, but he got busy and then tired and eventually forgot all about it.

Jim shut the door behind him at Granny’s. Darius looked up. He was still reading _Treasure_ goddamn _Island._ Jim gave a little wave to let him know everything was fine. Jim’s head was swimming from the alcohol, but he wasn’t about to let Darius know that.

He took off his coat and grabbed a book. _Dracula_. It looked like some light reading. It wasn’t. Jim sat in the corner, using his pillow as a cushion, and read the dense prose until he passed out. He woke up in the dark around midnight. Darius had gone to sleep. Jim drowsily crawled over to his folded over comforter on the floor and fell back asleep until morning.

When Jim awoke, he was expecting a hangover. He only had one drink, but it was one hell of a drink. However, when his eyes opened around nine in the morning, he felt fine. It promised to be a good day.

Jim sang to himself in the shower and picked out the sunniest, most picnic-friendly outfit he had. The options were limited. He devoured his bacon and eggs at breakfast. Darius had to remind him to save some for Nadir. Jim hummed all the way down Main Street, which confused Darius to no end.

“Why are you so happy?” Darius asked him.

“I don’t know!” Jim responded. “It’s just a very nice day today."

When they got to the park, it was Jim who wanted to look at all the flowers. The entire world was sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows. That is, until Jim got to the clearing and saw Nadir waiting with a scowl across his face. Jim kept his spine straight and handed him his rations.

“Nope, not today,” Jim told him. “Whatever it is, you can save it. I’m not letting you bring down my mood.”

Nadir was solid as stone. “Darius, why don’t you go play in the park for a while?” he said, not taking his eyes off Jim. “Mr. Hawkins and I need a moment alone.” A cloud rolled in and covered the forest, casting everything in a dull, gray light. “Jim, would you care to join me inside the _Albatross_? Don't worry. It’s perfectly safe.”

Jim hesitantly followed Nadir into the airship. Nadir shut the door behind them and locked it. Jim’s good mood was officially ruined.

“Nadir, what’s going on?” Jim asked, thoroughly unnerved.

“I spoke with Captain Nemo last night,” Nadir began. “I had gone back to give him a progress report. It seems the _Nautilus_ ’s portal generator is still under repair. We may be stuck here for a bit after the mission wraps up. He told me you weren’t planning on returning to Ingary with us. I was very surprised to find out why.”

Jim broke into a cold sweat. “I was thinking about making a permanent move.”

“Without collecting your bounty? Don’t lie to me, Jim,” Nadir ordered. “Nemo told me all about your relationship to Captain Hook and your plan to kill him when you found him in Storybrooke.”

Jim was caught. Lies couldn’t help him anymore. He might as well try the truth.

“Fine. You caught me!” Jim admitted. “There was never any bounty. I didn’t come here for money. I came here for one thing and one thing only: to put Captain Hook in the ground!”

“Why?” asked Nadir, unmoved by Jim’s passion.

Jim was a bit ticked that Nadir had the nerve to look bored. “Did Nemo not tell you?” he asked. “Captain Hook murdered someone I cared about and I’m going to make him pay dearly for it.”

“I’m not impressed with your motives,” said Nadir. “I also don’t know if I’m comfortable leaving my young assistant in the care of a would-be killer!”

Jim was deeply insulted. “You think I’d hurt Darius? I am _not_ a killer, especially not to a kid! I’m not a threat to anyone except Hook. We are talking about putting an end to a blood-thirsty monster who’s taken the lives of countless innocent people!”

“By becoming a blood-thirsty monster yourself?” Nadir asked in a sagely, condescending tone. “If you kill a killer, the number of killers in the world stays the same.”

Jim rolled his eyes. “Oh, bullshit. I’m ending a century-long murder spree. He’s a danger to everyone who lives in this town. I don’t know why he’s hiding out here, but once the coast is clear, he’ll be right back at it. It’s what he does.”

Nadir laughed cruelly. “This isn’t about justice. This isn’t about other people’s safety. This is a personal vendetta. Don’t pretend to have pure intentions.”

Jim stormed over to him, crushing some shards of glass beneath his boots. “So what if it’s personal?” he spat. “Is your little thing with Svengali not personal? Darius told me you two have a history.”

“He did?” Nadir asked, backing up. He looked genuinely on edge.

Jim continued pushing Nadir into a corner. “He didn’t get into specifics with me, but I know there’s more going on here than just bringing a criminal to justice. So don’t get self-righteous with me,” Jim shot back at him.

“What exactly did that man do that you would go to the ends of the earth just to see him dead?” asked Nadir, leaning against a demolished gambling table.

Jim yanked the watch from his pocket and opened it. He held it out as it softly ticked.

“This is what he did!” Jim yelled, pointing to Killian’s picture. “Hook took him away from me! The one ray of sunshine I had in my miserable life! He slaughtered him like a dog and I never even got to say goodbye! He is going to pay for what he did to him if it’s the last thing I do!” Jim’s arm was shaking as he held the watch aloft.

Nadir carefully approached and took the watch from Jim’s hand, almost as if he'd been holding a gun. He looked at Killian’s picture, then looked back at Jim. Tears were streaming down his face. “You have must have cared for him a great deal,” said Nadir solemnly. He gave the watch back to Jim, who stowed it away.

“I know I can’t convince you not to kill this man,” Nadir continued, “but doing so will jeopardize our operation. Law enforcement will be involved. The same law enforcement you’ve made allies with against Hyde and the other Black Coats. Do you think you can restrain yourself at least until Svengali has been apprehended?”

Jim sniffled. He wiped his eyes on his jacket. “Fine. I promised I'd help you and I don’t break promises,” he said, trying to pull himself back together. “But when I see him – and I’m going to see a lot of him starting today - it’s going to take a lot of self-restraint.”

Jim gritted his teeth, huffing like a dragon. He swore he wasn’t a killer, but something in Nadir’s eyes looked afraid for his own life. Jim knew he had frightened him when Nadir walked, not past him, but around the perimeter of the room back to the door.

“I understand,” said Nadir, taking hold of the handle. “Thank you for putting our mission ahead of your... personal concerns.”

“Don’t mention it,” Jim said insincerely.

“What was his name?” Nadir asked sympathetically. “The man in the picture.”

Jim opened the watch again and held it between them. Nadir moved it under a hanging light so they could see. Together, they looked at the scruffy, black-haired youth beaming from the faded photograph. Nadir, squinting, saw that he wore the same jeweled earring that dangled from Jim’s right ear.

Jim wiped his nose. Taking a deep, shaky breath, Jim said, “His name was Killian Jones. He was the love of my life. I don’t know how you feel about that sort of thing and, frankly, I don’t care.”

“The nature of your relationship makes no difference to me,” said Nadir.

“Thank you. If only more people were as… apathetic,” Jim returned. “Darius is going to get worried soon. What’s our story?”

Nadir took a breath. “We were discussing Nemo’s broken generator and plans for a longer stay. Now, give us a moment to discuss what to do with Svengali if we can’t take him to Ingary right away.” Jim nodded in agreement.

Darius was milling about the clearing when they returned. He, of course, wanted to know what they had been talking about. Jim and Nadir stuck to their story. Then Jim waited around while Nadir and Darius made plans for keeping Svengali captive in Storybrooke. Then they left. Jim felt Nadir’s distrustful stare burn into the back of his head until they reached the park.

“Why are your eyes so red?” Darius asked Jim.

Jim made up another lie. “There was still some smoke inside the ship.” He forced a cough just to drive it home.

Jim looked at the time. They still had a few hours before it was time to meet the Nolans. Only a few hours until Jim finally laid eyes on Hook. What to do in that time?

“Hey! Yesterday, I asked Jefferson who else in town might know about magic,” Jim explained to Darius. “He said the pawnbroker down the road might be able to help us. Maybe we should go talk to him. He might help us figure out what happened to Thomas.”

It sounded like a plan to Darius. They walked back up Main Street until they reached Mr. Gold’s Pawn Shop. It seemed nice enough on the outside, a small but respectable storefront. Jim opened the heavy wooden door and they stepped inside.

There was something very spooky about the interior. Darius retreated behind Jim for protection. Now, Jim had been inside his share of pawn shops. They were filled mostly with useless junk and semi-precious metals. This was different. There were jewelry, watches, and the like. Some rare coins. But the store was also filled with odd artifacts that radiated dark magical energy.

“Darius, do not touch anything,” Jim instructed with all the gravity he could muster. “I mean it.”

Jim approached the counter in the back of the room. There was an ancient-looking cash register sitting on it and a little metal bell. Against his better judgment, Jim rang it. Footsteps started approaching from the back. He didn’t know what to expect. A haggard old witch? The devil incarnate? Oddly enough, it was Belle from the library.

“Oh, hello, Killian! How are you doing today?” she said nicely. “Hi, Darius!”

When they first met, Belle had been wearing a somewhat loose-fitting dress. Today, she was wearing a cardigan sweater that was much snugger and Jim could see that she was clearly pregnant. He felt guilty for not staying around to help her pick up more books.

“Hey, Belle! We’re doing well,” Jim said back. “Do you work here?”

“Not exactly. My husband owns the shop. I do help out a bit when I’m not busy with the library. Actually, I need to be off. Lunch break’s almost over,” Belle said, heading toward the door. “Before I go, were those books any help to you so far?”

“Uh, yeah!” Jim said proudly. “They helped us catch the guy who raided the library.”

Belle was positively gleeful. “That’s fantastic! Who was it?” she asked.

Jim gave Darius a little nudge. He should be the one to tell her. “It was the Invisible Man!” Darius proclaimed.

“The Invisible Man is in Storybrooke?” Belle’s expression was somewhere between shocked and starstruck, an odd reaction to have.

Jim had to spoil it. “Not anymore,” he told her. Belle deflated a bit. “He died during interrogation. That’s why we’re here. Dark magic appeared to be involved and we’re told your husband is something of an expert in that area.”

Belle was stunned. She smiled nervously. “Yes, he’s a regular encyclopedia when it comes to that sort of thing. Let me go see if he’s busy.” She seemed very fidgety as she walked back behind the counter out of the room. What was a sweet woman like Belle doing married to a dark magic practitioner? In a minute or two, she came back. “He’ll be right down. He's just finishing up a project. He also does watch repairs. It was so nice to see you again. Come by any time!”

After Belle left, Jim and Darius waited around awkwardly for Mr. Gold. They looked about the store. It was like a Kingsbury flea market. Items from across the realms were inside. A spinning wheel, some creepy marionettes, and a broken display case that was supposed to contain a rare Atlantican dagger.

“More of Thomas’s work, I’ll bet,” Jim said to Darius.

“How can I help you gentlemen?” said Mr. Gold, taking Jim by surprise. He was an older man in a snappy business suit. He had at least one gold tooth and walked with a cane. As if his presence didn't seem ominous enough, Jim had the sneaking suspicion they had met before.

“I’m sorry. I was just examining that case,” said Jim. “Was that one of the robberies that happened last week?”

“No, that particular robbery happened just this morning,” said Gold, waiting on them with a closed-lipped smile.

Jim looked at Darius. “That’s strange. We just caught the guy who raided the library and all the other locations.”

“You did?” asked Mr. Gold with mild surprise. He must have thought Jim and Darius didn’t look like much. In fairness to him, they didn’t. “My wife will be so pleased to hear that. Who was it?”

“His name was Thomas Marvel. You might know him better as the Invisible Man,” Jim answered. “And I say ‘was’ because, as of yesterday morning, Thomas Marvel is dead.”

Gold didn’t seem affected. “What a profound loss we’ve suffered,” he said sarcastically. Jim chuckled to humor him.

“That’s actually why we’re here. My cousin and I are detectives,” said Jim for the umpteenth time. “I was in the interrogation room when Thomas died. He was about to give us the name of the person using his heart to control him. We were told you’re something of an expert on dark magic and we’re wondering if you could help us find whoever was pulling his strings.”

Mr. Gold slowly walked out from behind the counter. He crossed one leg over the other, leaning on a display case. He looked intently at Jim’s face. “Do I know you? That ticking noise… It’s awfully familiar.”

Jim could feel himself begin to sweat. “You can hear that?” he asked nervously, patting his jacket to find the watch. Mr. Gold nodded knowingly. Usually, only Jim could hear the watch without opening it. He handed the watch over to Gold. “It’s just an old pocket watch. Family heirloom.”

Gold gave it a look. He ran his thumb across the gold crocodile. He popped open the cover. When he saw Killian’s picture, the memory returned.

He held it up to Jim by the chain. “It’s not just any old watch, now is it?” Gold was grinning wickedly. “Jim Hawkins, this truly is a surprise. How long has it been? About hundred years, give or take?”

Darius was utterly beside himself. “You’re a hundred years-!” Jim put his hand on his shoulder to tell him to shut up.

“It certainly seems that long, doesn’t it?” Jim cocked his head toward Darius to tell Gold to keep a lid on it around the child. “Remind me when we last saw each other?” This directly translated to “How the fuck do you know my name?”

Gold held his finger to his lips while he thought. “I believe it was somewhere in the Cockaigne region, near Pleasure Island perhaps. You had been staking out the place for quite some time waiting for a certain pirate to pass by. That’s where I gave you this watch.” Gold played with the chain, so the watch spun around in midair. "It was supposed to help you find him. I guess it didn't work. Or did it?"

“You’re Rumplestiltskin… the Dark One,” Jim murmured. He stepped in front of Darius to protect him. “What are you doing in Storybrooke?”

“I could ask you the same question, dearie,” said Gold inquisitively. “And I think you mean _former_ Dark One. The new Dark One is currently roasting in a lake of fire, being ripped limb from limb by a hundred-and-one spotted hellhounds. May God rest her soul.” Gold made the sign of the cross.

Jim let that upsetting image pass before continuing on. “Well, I’m just here following that watch you gave me,” he said.

“I’d have figured you’d have given up by now,” said Gold, setting the watch on the glass counter.

Jim took the watch back and gripped it tightly. “I’m very persistent.”

“Well, by the ticking, it sounds like your journey’s finally come to an end.” The way Gold was smiling, it gave Jim the impression he knew something that Jim didn’t. “Who’s the young lad in the picture?”

Jim really didn’t want to talk about that. “An old friend of mine,” was all Jim had to say. “You said I needed something for the magic to work, a reminder of why I’m searching for him.”

“Of course.” Gold opened his mouth, running some mental logic before speaking. He gestured to the watch in Jim’s pocket. “So he’s the one who…?” Gold ran his thumb across his neck, implying murder.

“Yes,” Jim growled. Silently, he mouthed, “Not in the front of the kid!”

Gold suppressed a laugh. He held his hand in front of his mouth. There was definitely something Gold wasn’t telling him, but Jim knew he wasn’t about to find out any time soon. Not from Gold, at least. “I think you’re in the right place, dearie. I just hope you’re prepared to face what you find.”

“I’ve been preparing for a while,” Jim informed him.

“Oh, I know,” said Gold, pointing his index finger in the air. “ _But,_ have you been preparing for the right thing?”

Jim was beginning to get a headache. “Enough with the riddles! Can you help us with the Invisible Man case or not?” Darius had begun browsing the store and something he touched made a noise. “Darius, I said not to touch anything!”

Mr. Gold was looking far too amused for any good to come out of this meeting. Still, he put on his thinking cap. “Who would have the knowledge, ability, and motive to send poor Thomas out to do all those wicked deeds? Hmm...”

Jim knew the answer. “Regina. It couldn’t have been her though. She was in the room when he was killed. And she couldn’t have been crushing his heart, even if it _was_ invisible. Her hands were pressed against the glass the whole time.”

Gold pondered this. “That,” he said, “is interesting. Perhaps I can be of some assistance after all. I take it you’re staying at Granny’s? Lovely woman, isn't she? I’ll leave a message with her if I uncover anything useful. And if you happen to find that dagger, please let me know. It’s the only dagger that holds any value to me now.”

Almost like a magic trick, Gold produced his business card. It was a little ivory rectangle with gold foil accents. Not that it would be useful to Jim, who had neither phone nor computer. Still, Jim pocketed it before turning to leave.

“Thank you for your help, Rum- Mr. Gold,” Jim said. “We’ll let you know about the dagger. Also, I told your wife that my name is Killian. We’re sort of incognito here. If you could not use my real name around her, that would be great.” He hoped it wasn’t too much, asking Gold to ever-so-slightly deceive his wife.

“No problem at all,” said Gold, stifling another laugh. “Killian, eh? Quite an interesting name to choose. Does your alias have a last name by any chance?”

Jim sighed and told him, “Jones.”

Gold covered his mouth to keep himself from squealing. “A pleasure doing business with you,” Gold gulped, trying not to bust a gut, “ _Killian Jones._ ” He was practically in stitches when Jim closed the door and they were back on the street.

Both Jim and Darius breathed a heavy sigh of relief when they were out of Gold’s shop. They scurried around the corner and slid down the side of the wall, letting out every breath they held while in there.

“I don’t want to go back there, Jim,” Darius said, visibly shaken. “He’s scary.”

Jim remembered Mr. Gold’s days as the Dark One. “You don’t know the half of it, kid. Next time, I’ll go by myself.” Jim wasn’t concerned that Gold would reveal his secrets to anyone. Discretion was one of his strong suits. That was precisely Jim’s fear. Gold was keeping something from him. What, he was unsure.

He checked the time on the clock tower. They had less than an hour before they needed to head down to the park for lunch with Hook.

Darius looked at the watch still clutched in Jim’s hand. “So, Mr. Gold gave you that watch? Why?”

“The Dark One and Hook were enemies a long time ago. He gave me the watch hoping I’d solve his pirate problem. He must be so disappointed that it’s taken me till now,” Jim explained. He stood up, dusted himself off, and set off back down the road.

Darius followed him. “And now they live in the same town? Are they really all right with that?” he asked.

“They must have buried the hatchet,” Jim guessed. “A bounty is still a bounty though. It doesn’t matter if Gold cares or not. All I care about is real gold.”

The two of them spent their last free minutes moseying about, walking down cross streets to find something interesting. There was a very particular flower Darius wanted at Game of Thorns. Fortunately, single flowers weren't terribly expensive. It was a potted orchid.

“You know,” Darius said, holding the flower up high, “I might try to keep this one alive. It’s too pretty to press.”

Finally, it was time to walk back to the park. The day felt exhaustingly long already and it wasn’t even quite one. As they approached the port where _The Jolly Roger_ had been docked, Jim began getting butterflies in his stomach. This really was it. After years and years of fruitless searching, it was all about to be over.

His limbs felt like they were liquefying, yet his joints were turning to stone. He wouldn’t be able to eat much. That was for sure. Would this be everything Jim expected? What would he do when it was done? He didn’t have the answers and he couldn’t waste time trying to find them. He just put one foot in front of the other until he was standing in the spot fate had designed for him.

Jim looked around for Snow or Emma or David. They were nowhere in sight. Were they too early? Jim checked his watch. It was ticking quite loudly now. Hook had to be close. The Nolan family should be around somewhere. Jim searched again. There wasn’t anyone of appropriate age to be Emma’s son or boyfriend, and there was definitely no sign of Hook.

“Look over there!” Darius directed, pointing out to the ocean. “I think that's his ship!”

Jim’s walk turned into a run as he caught sight of _The Jolly Roger_ out at sea. The ticking of the clock intensified. Hook was on that ship. Of course! He was Henry’s sailing instructor that day. That meant the rest of the family were onboard and just hadn’t docked for lunch. All Jim had to do was wait as the ship delivered his prey right to him.

Then Jim heard a familiar cry that shook him to his core. To other men, it would have been a sweet, alluring song. It was a promise of irresistible beauty and unfathomable bliss. Jim could hear it for what it was though, a blood-curdling ravenous screech. That could only mean one thing: sirens.

Jim ran to the docks and took out his spyglass. From land, he could see the ship being accosted by a swarm of bird-like women. Or woman-like birds. Jim was never quite sure. Jim did a quick tally in his head. There were two women and four men on that craft. All four of those men were going to be comprised and one of them was at the helm.

“Darius, listen to me.” Jim said with gravitas. “There's monsters attacking the ship. Take my coat and go find Nadir.”

Darius grabbed the jacket from him. “Jim, what are you going to do?”

Jim steeled himself. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was doing. He took a deep breath and found humor in the situation. Before he finally faced his adversary, Jim first had to save his life. Getting a running start, Jim dove headfirst off the dock and into the bitter cold water. He swam to _The Jolly Roger_ as fast as he possibly could, which was quite some distance away.

After enduring the frigid and choppy waters, Jim grabbed a rope dangling from the boat’s port side and climbed onboard. On it, he found Snow and Emma barricading the door to below deck. At the helm was young man of about sixteen. This must be Henry. Hook seemed to have taught him well, well enough to steer them into a colossal whirlpool!

“Phil?” Emma said, struggling against the door. “You can’t be here. There’s sirens surrounding the boat!”

Snow was also having a difficult time keep the door shut. “We’ve trapped the guys in the captain’s quarters, but I don’t know how much longer we can hold them!”

“You’ve got bigger problems to worry about. Did either of you see that whirlpool?” Jim pointed out to the watery vortex ahead. They both shook their heads. “Your kid is steering us straight toward it!”

Emma was torn. She could go to her son and risk letting her father and lover out to drown themselves in the sea. “What do we do? We can’t get through to him!”

“Do either of you have wax?” Jim asked. “Cotton? Something to stuff in his ears!”

Emma reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, pushing her shoulder against the door. Then she reached into a different pocket and pulled out some white plastic strings. She plugged the cord into her phone. “Will music work?”

“It will if it’s loud!” Jim yelled over the siren’s shrieks. Jim took Emma’s place holding the door.

Emma searched her phone for appropriate music. “I knew Sonic Youth would be a good purchase,” she said, putting the ends of the cords into Henry’s ears. “I really hope this doesn’t make him go deaf.” Emma pushed a button. Based on Henry’s reaction, the music must have started to play. Jim could barely hear it. What he did hear was terrible.

Henry very nearly fell to the floor. Emma reduced the volume. Jim wasn’t sure if it worked or not, then Henry turned to his mother. “Sonic Youth? Really?” were the first words out of Henry’s mouth.

Jim breathed a small sigh of relief as he strained against the door. Whoever was inside really wanted to get out. Hook was right behind the door, Jim realized. He was not letting the sirens have him. Hook was his kill. Jim did not come this far just to see the old man drown. He pushed back even harder. Hook wasn’t going to die until Jim said so. Jim tried a bold maneuver. He took off his belt, surprising Snow, and wrapped it around the helm-shaped door handles, buckling it as tightly as he could.

Meanwhile, Emma pointed Henry to the whirlpool. Henry quickly turned the wheel around, causing all of them to lose their balance. Jim held tight to the door. Beside him, he saw Snow’s quiver and bow lying on the deck.

“Snow!” Jim yelled, catching her attention. “You and Emma need to take out the sirens! There should only be six! Grab your bow and have her use some magic! I’ll handle the door!”

Snow nodded and ran for her bow. Now that Henry had his wits about him, Emma was free to take out the sirens with her mom. Another perfect plan. Emma blasted three sirens straight out of the sky, while Snow shot down another two. Watching the mother-daughter duo work was impressive.

Something tore. Maybe Jim’s plan wasn’t so perfect after all. The belt he had been wearing was very worn and three grown men were pushing against it to get out. After a bit more pushing, the belt snapped. The door flew open and the men clambered onto the deck. Jim was thrown to the ground, hitting his head.

The men rushed past him to the bow where the sirens waited with open arms. But, with one final screech, the noise stopped. Snow had shot the last siren. The temptress fell into the water with a splash. It would take more than a few arrows to take a siren down for good, but Emma and Snow took them out of commission for quite a while.

Now that the threat was neutralized and the boat was steady, Jim could sit up and think clearly. He looked around for the others, who were all standing around hugging each other at the far end of the boat. He could hear their voices. Henry left the helm and discarded Emma’s music. Jim listened. The kid’s ears were shot for sure. 

“Are you all right, Hook?” Snow asked, giving him a motherly hug. “We did our best to keep you inside. We didn’t know what else to do.”

Hook. This was it. The man Snow was standing next to near the bow. This had to be him. From what Jim could tell, the man was tall and had hair as black as night. Surprisingly young, it seemed. Without seeing his face, he guessed he couldn’t be much older than Jim, though he knew he had to be at least one-hundred.

Then he saw it. The hook. The man raised it up to scratch the back of his neck. Sunlight glinted off it. Jim growled like an angry dog. He finally had his man.

Jim couldn’t kill him now. He wasn’t armed and there were witnesses, witnesses who seemed to have a good relationship with the Captain. Plus, he wanted the opportunity to let Hook know exactly why his miserable life was coming to an end.

What was he going to do now, though? He’d either attempt to casually greet and make conversation with the man who murdered Killian or jump into the water and swim back to shore.

“You all right, Philip? Are you injured?” asked David. He had seen Jim sitting in the corner by himself. He offered his hand to help Jim up. “Sorry about that. I don’t know what came over me.”

“Sirens,” Jim retorted, feeling slightly miffed. What was it about those creatures that turned men into complete idiots? “I’m fine. Just a bump on the head.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear you’re okay.” Suddenly, David made Jim’s decision for him. “Come on! Hook wants to meet the man who saved his life.” David dragged him along to the front of the ship. Jim was powerless to stop him.

They got closer and closer. The ticking blared in his ear like an alarm bell, but no one else could hear it. Hook was still talking to Emma and Snow. This couldn’t be him. He’s not like Jim imagined at all. No long ringlets of hair, no foppish clothes, no mustache you could see from behind. “He’s blending in quite well,” Jim thought.

“Hey, Hook!” David called. “This is the guy we’ve been telling you about. Philip, this is Emma’s boyfriend Killian.”

“What?” Jim asked, confused. There was no time to prepare him for the shock.

Hook turned around. When Jim took sight of his face, it was as if time stood still. There was a split second when Jim was puzzling why his face looked so familiar. When that moment ended, a part of Jim’s mind cracked.

It was Killian. _His_ Killian. It was impossible.

“Nice to meet you, Philip! Killian Jones. Friends call me Hook,” Hook greeted.

His voice was as smooth as ever. He held out his hand to shake. Jim took his hand. His skin hadn’t changed either. It was rough, but in a way Jim liked. His smile. His hair. His eyes. Oh, those angelic eyes of his. Nothing was out of place. Except for his other hand.

The hook. Killian was Captain Hook this whole time? The crack in Jim’s mind widened until his psyche was a firework show of shattered glass. He had to say something. Anything.

“Nice to meet you too, Captain! Fine vessel you’ve got here,” Jim blurted. Well, it was something.

The handshake went on for longer than was comfortable for either of them. Jim wanted to escape, to throw himself into the ocean. He knew though that he was going to be trapped making conversation to his long-lost lover and pretend that his world hadn’t just fallen completely to pieces.

The horrendous conversation they were having was cut mercifully short by Emma. She had gone back to the stern to collect her phone and received an urgent message. She pushed another button on her phone and a strange woman’s voice began to speak in a strained whisper.

“Emma, it’s Ella. Ella Tremaine. I tried calling your dad, but he wouldn’t pick up. You need to get here right away. It’s that mermaid girl with the red hair. She tried to kill us while we were sleeping and she won't stop coming after us. We’re trapped in our bathroom. Please hurry!”

The message ended.

“We have to go,” Emma said, completely exhausted. “Second verse, same as the first.”

Hook left to take the helm and guide _The Jolly Roger_ back to port. Jim was just happy to be rid of him. He probably ought to at least be curious about a murderous mermaid, but his mind was completely overwhelmed by Killian. Hook. Killian. Hook. Killian? He didn’t even know what to call him.

Whatever this new emergency was, if Hook was going, they’d have to do it without him. Jim needed to escape. He was going to explode and he had to make sure no one was in the blast radius when he did. He remembered what Ishmael had told him aboard _The Nautilus_. Jim was starting to believe he was right after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter replaces "The Other Shoe." I took some serious liberties with Cinderella and Ariel's stories, based on a short story I wrote for a creative writing course. In this version, Ariel's story adheres much closer to Hans Christian Andersen's version. One major change is that the girl the prince chooses over Ariel is Cinderella. This merges Prince Eric and Prince Thomas into a single character.


	6. Set the Country Ablaze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After seeing Hook, Jim is shell-shocked. He runs into Regina in the woods, who reveals that she orchestrated the recent attacks. After seeking council from Nadir, Jim makes a plan to get some answers from Hook.

_"The old deserted beach that we walked, remember? The cafe in the park where we talked, remember? The tenor on the boat that we chartered, butch'ring 'The Bartered Bride'... Ah, how we laughed! Ah, how we cried! Ah, how you promised and, ah, how I lied."_ \- "Remember?", _A Little Night Music_

* * *

_The Jolly Roger_ docked in the Storybrooke harbor. Hook entrusted Jim and Henry with securing the vessel. Emma, David, and Hook dashed to Emma’s car and drove off to rescue Ella and Eric from their attacker.

Jim, thoroughly absent, struggled as he clumsily tied the ship to the moorings. Henry had to come over and show him how to do it, which would have infuriated the formally educated Jim if he was present enough to care. Meanwhile, Snow picked up some debris from the ship’s deck.

“Do you still want this?” Snow asked Jim, holding the fragments of his tattered belt. Jim shook his head no. “We can buy you a new one,” she offered.

Jim wasn’t in a mental position to make any arguments against anything. “I think I’ll take you up on that, if only because David’s pants are just slightly too big for me,” Jim jested. He used humor to obfuscate the panic attack he was still trying to ride out.

Henry finished securing the ship. “My ears keep ringing,” he complained, twisting his finger around in his ear canal.

“First siren attack?” Jim asked. Henry nodded. “The number one rule of sailing, kid: always bring earplugs.”

The three of them disembarked from _The Jolly Roger_ and walked back to the parking lot. Henry shook his head, as if that would somehow dislodge the sound. Emma probably could have toned down the volume, but it was a do-or-die situation. She was freaking out, much like Jim at the moment.

Jim was doing his best to keep calm, but he was a time bomb waiting to go off. His limbs were twitching and he prayed to God that Snow or Henry wouldn’t notice. He was an abandoned building whose support structures had all crumbled to dust. If you looked through his windows, no one would be home. The slightest gust of wind could topple him to the ground.

“I can’t believe there’d be sirens in Storybrooke,” Snow said, mystified. “We ran into them on our way to the Underworld, but I don’t know why they’d have followed us back.”

Normally, Jim would be highly interested in how and why someone like Snow would have gone to the Underworld. He took some more deep breaths. He needed to be calm enough to say goodbye to Snow and Henry. He could turn into a puddle when they were safely out of sight.

“Well, I’ve gotta go find Darius. I told him to hide while we dealt with the monsters,” Jim stuttered. “Maybe we can do this some other time?” That would mean making small talk with Hook again. Jim didn’t think his heart could take it.

Snow opened her picnic basket. “Here, take something with you. It’ll go bad otherwise.”

Jim, not up to making decisions, took a few sandwiches at random in a zipped plastic bag and a small container of potato salad. Hopefully, Nadir would like it. He said goodbye to them and wandered into the park in search of Darius. Jim waited until Henry and Snow had left before darting into the woods. He left the food on the large log by the ship and kept running.

He ran further and further into the forest. He had to get away, far away from anyone who might see him. The turmoil festering inside him was about to boil over and Jim hadn’t the faintest idea of what would happen when it did. His head was aching and he needed a place to vent somehow.

Trudging through the trees, Jim spotted a cave and made a beeline for it. It was the perfect place to hide while he put the pieces of his mind back together. Jim looked around the cave. It was nothing but stone and stalactites extending deep into the ground.

He let out a primal scream of fury that reverberated throughout the space. He took a few breaths and screamed again. His energy depleted, Jim collapsed in a corner and curled against the wall in the fetal position.

Rocking back and forth, he muttered, “It doesn’t make any sense. It couldn’t be him. Killian couldn’t be Hook. A pirate? He’d never. But why? Why is Hook Killian? Why is Killian Hook?” Jim gripped his head. The dissonance in his brain was driving a wedge straight through his skull. He cried out again in anguish.

“If it was him, he would have recognized me, right?” Jim thought. “Maybe not. Not with the beard and these clothes. After seventy-odd years, he’d probably think I was dead. Even if Hook hadn’t killed him, he’d be dead by now anyway. Maybe...”

Jim got up and started to frantically pace about the cavern. “Maybe Hook magically took over Killian’s body as a way to hide his identity. Maybe he glamoured himself to look like him. Maybe, uh... Maybe he knew I was coming for him and took Killian’s form to throw me off. But how? And why would he still have the hook? Ahhh!”

All the stress built up a swell of energy inside Jim’s nervous system. The more heightened he got, the more he felt a rising tide form at the back of his head. As his ranting grew more outlandish and his pacing more aggressive, the reservoir spilled over. Electricity washed over every neuron in Jim’s brain. It dizzied him and clouded his vision, sending him back to the cavern floor.

The feeling slowly subsided. It was a temporary relief from the throbbing pain in his head. He no longer felt ready to split open, but he was trembling harder than ever. Jim closed his eyes, relaxed his muscles, and did more deep breathing. “You have to get a hold of yourself,” Jim said resolutely. “You’re driving yourself crazy. You just had some kind of episode and it was entirely because of this thing with Hook. What the hell am I going to do though?”

When Jim opened his eyes, he found another pair of eyes looking down at him. He screamed in shock, a perhaps a bit of embarrassment. It was Regina of all people, examining him with a look of curiosity and mild disdain. Jim propped himself up to speak to her.

“Regina?” he asked, still disoriented. “What are you doing out here? What’s with the outfit?”

It had taken a moment for Jim to register that Regina was dressed in an extravagant black gown, one that was fit for neither her duties as mayor nor a walk in the woods.

“You like it? I haven’t worn it in ages,” said Regina, completely ignoring Jim’s obvious state of distress. “Now that the Charmings are occupied with the cinder-wench and the mermaid, I thought I’d come and introduce myself. You sure do like interfering with my plans, don’t you?”

Jim rubbed his eyes and massaged his temples. He shakily stood to his feet, keeping one hand on the cavern wall. “Introduce yourself? We met yesterday. What are you talking about?” Regina wasn’t making any sense, just what Jim needed.

Regina let out a little laugh. “Of course, how could I forget? Mister…?”

“Hawkins,” he told her. Then in a fresh panic, he added, “I mean, Cassell. Philip Cassell.”

Regina smiled smugly. She caught him. Once again, Jim forgot his alias and he let slip his true identity. Everything was ruined.

“A pleasure to meet you, _Mr. Cassell_.” Regina’s tone suggested that she either believed him or that his secret was safe with her. Why did that safety feel conditional? “I must say I’m impressed. I’ve never met a man who could resist the call of the sirens. When you dove in after them, I figured you must have been under their spell. Boy, was I wrong.”

Despite Jim’s weakened condition, he still could put two and two together. “You sent the sirens?” he asked, puzzling it over. Maybe what his brain needed was a different challenge.

Regina shuffled around a bit, choosing her words. “I wouldn’t say I sent them, per se. Hades just forgot to call them off after we found his wife for him. And I knew they couldn’t pass up luring some poor sailors to their doom. I may have given them just the tiniest little tip.”

Jim’s head was beginning to clear, at least for the time being. “So it was you! You sent the Invisible Man after Snow and David!”

Regina smirked. “Guilty.”

“Why?” asked Jim, aghast.

“That’s none of your concern,” she snapped. She folded her arms. “In fact, you would do well to keep your nose out of our affairs here in Storybrooke. You’re not from around here. It’s really none of your business.”

Jim stood up straight before her. “It’s my business if someone from my world is causing trouble. Thomas? The man you killed? And it’s anybody’s business if other people are getting hurt.”

Regina stared at him with pursed lips and lidded eyes. She was unimpressed. “It seems we have another hero on our hands. That’s a dangerous thing to be.”

Regina conjured a fireball in her fist. Jim seized up in fear, but he would never let it show. He would never let her have that satisfaction.

“I’d kill you right here and now,” she said, taunting him with the fireball, “but I’m a sucker for a pretty face. Consider this a warning. You’d better behave yourself, Mr. Hawkins. I’m sorry, Mr. _Cassell_. The next time we meet I might not be as nice.” She snuffed out the flame. Regina picked up her skirt and turned to go.

“Wait!” Jim called out desperately. Regina stopped and waited with her head cocked curiously to the side. “I need you to tell me something. Please. Captain Hook... Is he really Killian Jones? Do you know? You have to tell me!”

Regina thought for a moment, her finger against her lips. “I do know,” she said at last. With a wicked grin, she added, “and I’m so looking forward to finding out why you care.” Regina laughed and waved goodbye as she teleported away in a cloud of smoke.

“Come back!” Jim cried out, reaching out for the smoke. She was gone. “Bitch!” Jim hissed, kicking at the earth.

Who would help him now? There was no one left for Jim to turn to. No one could know his true identity or his relationship to Hook. He had constructed a delicate web of deceptions and half-truths that he couldn’t afford to break. He was operating under two aliases thanks to his own bad planning. And now Regina knew his real name!

He could say that he said the name while his mind was elsewhere. That might involve revealing why he was having a full-blown mental breakdown in the middle of the woods.

Philip Cassell was taking a walk in the woods, reflecting on past memories of his recently deceased friend, Jim Hawkins. They were hiking companions and Philip recently had gone to the forest in Ingary to scatter Jim’s ashes. That was his story and he would stick to that if the moment arose.

Jim couldn’t stay in the forest any longer. He’d blown off all the steam he could. Plus, he knew he ought to tell David and Emma about his encounter with Regina. It was all too much. Jim’s thoughts were too full. Killian. Hook. Regina. Hyde. Svengali. Darius. Nadir.

Nadir.

Despite their rocky relationship, Nadir was the only person Jim could be completely honest with. He had to find him now. Jim rushed back through the wilderness to the clearing. He slid down the hillside of loose stones and dirt and found Nadir inspecting his lunch by the log. Darius was not far away, sketching some ferns.

“Oh, there you are,” said Nadir dispassionately. “Drawing attention to yourself again, I hear.”

Jim had no time for his usual barbs. “Nadir, we need to talk. Now.” Jim’s haunted eyes and frenzied breathing told Nadir this was no time for games. “Darius can’t come,” Jim said quietly.

Nadir motioned for Jim to follow him back inside the _Albatross_. Nadir had taken the time to clear all of the debris into a pile, so that the rest of the space was safe to walk on. He clearly had too much time on his hands. They entered the door to the ship’s cabin and Nadir locked them inside.

“What’s this all about?” Nadir promptly asked. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Nadir didn’t know the half of it. Jim inhaled deeply. Otherwise, all his words would come out at once. “You know that ship I just saved? It’s Hook’s ship.”

“I figured as much,” said Nadir. “It’s the only ship in the harbor.”

“Right,” Jim continued. “But when I went to save them all from the sirens, I saw something… I don’t know if I have the words.”

Nadir sighed. “Just say it!” he told him, grabbing Jim by the shoulders. Jim was apoplectic, so Nadir gave him a mild smack to snap him out of it.

“I met Hook,” Jim said solemnly. “You know what he looked like?” Jim took out the watch and showed Nadir the portrait again. “He looked just like this.”

When it clicked in Nadir’s mind, Jim wished he could have framed the wide-eyed look of unnerved astonishment on his face. This was the perfect ghost story, one that Jim was forced to live.

“You mean, the man who murdered your lover is…” Nadir couldn’t even finish the sentence, it was so preposterous. “How could that be possible?”

Jim threw his hands up. “You’ve got me! I just spent about an hour in the woods driving myself insane trying to figure it out! It can’t really be him. Maybe his body is possessed. Maybe it’s just a glamour spell. Maybe I was so overwhelmed by meeting Hook that I hallucinated the whole thing! I don’t know!” Jim found a chair that hadn’t been damaged beyond recognition and had a seat. “Nadir, what do I do?”

Nadir looked down at him. Jim was so empty and exhausted. It was a truly pathetic sight. “If you want an answer to explain what you saw, I’m afraid I can’t help you,” Nadir said as kindly as he could. “The only one who knows the truth was standing on that ship with you. If answers are what you seek, you need to get them from him.”

Jim nodded. Nadir was right and, for once, Jim wasn’t ashamed to admit it. However, that wasn’t entirely accurate. One other person knew the truth, but her lips were sealed. Jim told Nadir everything he learned from Regina while in the throes if his panic attack.

“I say follow her advice,” Nadir said regarding Regina’s threats.

“How can I? I have to work with the police to get anywhere on the Svengali case. If she tries to hurt Emma or David or… Hook. Hook is part of the police force. At least, he’s training to be. I’m involved whether I like it or not,” Jim realized. “I promise I’ll keep Darius out of it. This is getting too big for him.”

Nadir had to agree. Neither of them anticipated a dangerous third party with her own agenda mucking up their mission. “If it ever comes down to saving their lives or the mission…” Nadir began.

“You want me to choose the mission,” Jim finished.

“No,” said Nadir, taking Jim by surprise. “I came here that I might put an end to one man’s trail of death. You expressed a similar sentiment, albeit with different means. I don’t want more people dying in the process. Protect your new friends, even if it does derail the mission a bit. Just be careful. This Regina… If you do save them from her again, who’s going to save you?”

Jim stood up and stretched. “We’ll just have to catch Svengali and Hook and be on our way before that happens. Then they can deal with Regina. They may not look it, but they’re a family of swordsmen, archers, and witches. They don’t need us.” Jim headed through the ruined cabin for the door.

“Except when they did,” Nadir reminded him as they left.

Jim took Darius back to Granny’s. Darius had dinner in the diner, but Jim couldn’t eat. Nadir would be happy later when Jim brought him his entire steak dinner in a box. Afterward, they retired to their room. Darius began reading _Frankenstein_ while Jim prepared his weapons for the evening. A few knifes, his cutlass, and – most importantly – a magazine for a dart gun containing a powerful tranquilizer.

“What’s that for?” asked Darius, setting aside his book.

Jim needed to think fast. “They’re having a dart-throwing contest down at the bar,” Jim lied. He was more ashamed of how weak the lie was than the fact he was lying to Darius. “I’m bringing my lucky darts. Are you going to be all right by yourself later?”

Darius nodded and went back to his book. Jim left to take a much needed shower. Not only did the day’s strenuous activities leave him smelly and sore, but he also needed it to help him relax.

He let the hot water cascade over his body, loosening each tight muscle and waking up every tired nerve ending. Too exhausted to stand, Jim lied down in the bathtub and just let the water pour down on him like rain. Was he really ready for this tonight? Jim turned off the water. He wiped the condensation off the mirror and looked himself in the eye. No. He wasn’t ready. Emotionally, Jim was a wreck and, honestly, he didn’t have much of a plan. Wait at the dock hoping Hook would show up? That wouldn't do.

Jim decided to be retroactively truthful to Darius. He dried his hair, dressed, and found some cash to actually get a drink at the bar. Sadly, Jefferson wasn’t working that evening. Jim ordered another Long Island Iced Tea. After today, he needed it. It wasn’t quite as good as when Jefferson made it, but alcohol was alcohol. Tonight, Jim was going to focus on self-care. Tomorrow, he would take on Hook and get the answers for his burning questions.

But, Jim thought as he walked back to Granny’s, what was he going to do once he had his answer? Kill the man right there? Jim supposed it could wait. But what if, by some unholy miracle, it was Killian after all? Jim might actually die.

When he got home, Jim grabbed his copy of _Dracula_ and read until he passed out. Reading and rum. The combination never failed to put him straight to sleep. However, his dreams were plagued by visions of Killian. More so than usual.

In one dream, Jim found himself on a ship witnessing the murder the way he always imagined it. It was in the middle of a thunderstorm and the ship was rocking every which way. Jim looked frantically for Killian when he heard him cry out in pain. He ran to him and found him slain on the deck, his blood intermingling with the rainwater.

Jim looked up to see Hook the way he had been described, with a wide-brimmed hat, long locks of hair, and a ridiculous waxed mustache. But his face. He had Killian’s face. Jim looked from one Killian to the other, both laughing at him in his distress. The pirate, wearing Killian like a mask, raised his hook to stab Jim through the heart.

Jim woke up in a cold sweat. He sank back into his bedding like he'd fallen onto them from several inches in the air. His heart pounded. His head ached. Darius was still sleeping, which meant Jim at least hadn’t screamed. Jim brought himself down from his night terror and checked his watch. It was barely even one o’clock in the morning. Jim was in for a long, torturous night.

 

* * *

 

“So, you were right,” said Regina, peering through the window of a steel door. “The books do have more power than I realized.”

A tall, broad-shouldered man sat inside a cell. His eyes burned like coals up at her. “I take it your experiment was a success?” he replied in a deep baritone.

“I don’t know, was it?” Regina loudly asked to the adjacent cell. In it, the red-haired woman from earlier was whimpering, muffled by magic. “I guess having an unfinished story really hurts.”

Getting up from his seat, the man said, “You get used to it."

“So, I get you the other Storybooks and I get what exactly?” Regina queried.

“Freedom,” the man told her. “From your lesser half.”

He looked her dead in the eyes, which made her shiver just slightly. It was a good kind of shiver. Regina smiled back at him, which was never a good sign.

“Excellent,” she said. Regina snapped her fingers and the door to the cell unlocked. It swung open to set the man free. He towered in the doorframe, casting a massive shadow on the wall.

Regina moved out of his way. “After you, Mr. Hyde.” She took his arm. The two villains looked deviously at each other before vanishing from the psych ward in a mist.

 

* * *

 

After waking from his nightmare, Jim couldn’t get back to sleep. He tossed and turned, breathed in and out, but every time he’d get close to slumber, he’d startle back awake. Darius’s snoring was becoming profoundly annoying, like the kid was taunting him from inside his dreams. Then there was the ticking. Ever since Jim encountered Hook, the watch stopped acting like a glorified metal detector. It ticked with the rhythm of an ordinary watch, which further reminded Jim of his predicament.

“Mission accomplished!” the watch seemed to say. If the timepiece had any sentience, it would have been mocking him.

Jim resigned himself to lie there on the floor until sunrise, anxiety coursing through his veins, weighing him down like lead. He got up quietly and used the bathroom. Then he found himself a glass of water. There was nothing else he could do. Finally, at around six o’clock, Jim’s body eventually got bored with all the stress. He fell asleep again and stayed asleep for five hours.

When he awoke, Jim was hardly rested. In fact, he felt worse. He turned to Darius and found him gone. “Aw, shit,” Jim groaned. Now he had to track down the kid. Jim got dressed and hurried down the stairs to the diner. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found Darius at a booth eating some pancakes and reading.

“There you are,” said Jim, sitting down next to him. “You had me worried for a second.”

Darius set down _Frankenstein_ , using a napkin as a bookmark. He was almost done with it. “You were taking too long to get up and I was hungry.”

Ruby came over, took one look at Jim, and left to go get him some coffee. Black. Perfect.

“Bless you,” Jim told her. “I suppose I should eat something with this.” If he didn’t, he knew he’d only feel worse. Jim’s stomach was not up to food though. “Could you just get me some toast?”

Darius fake-coughed. Right. Nadir. “Actually, can you make that French toast, side of sausage? Thank you.”

As Ruby took his menu away, Jim had a terrible realization. “I never brought Nadir dinner last night,” he whispered to Darius. “Shit!” Somewhere in their room was a steak slowly going bad. “I hope he’s still got enough food in the ship’s pantry.”

Jim managed to eat enough French toast that the coffee wouldn’t sour his stomach. He ate a few bites of sausage, just to justify his order. Ruby didn’t even need to be asked for a box. Jim and Darius rushed over to the woods to bring the food to Nadir.

Presenting Nadir with the box, Jim began profusely apologizing. “Nadir, I am so sorry. I totally forgot to-”

Nadir held up his hand to quiet Jim. “You had… a great deal on your mind yesterday. I understand.” Jim was blown back by how easygoing Nadir was about not having food. Nadir began to ravenously tear apart the French toast.

“So what’s on today’s agenda?” he asked, getting powdered sugar in his beard.

Jim leaned in so Darius wouldn’t hear. “We’re going to the police station to report the incident with Regina. Then I’m going to try to learn where Hook will be tonight. I’m just going to keep working with them until I get an opportunity to interrogate him. The process might kill me, but I’ll suffer through it.” Jim inhaled the fresh forest air. Coming back to himself, he added, “And I’ll try to work Svengali into the conversation. Casually, of course.”

This made Nadir smile. “I’m glad to see you’re keeping yourself together,” he said sincerely.

“Yeah, like keeping together a ship that’s been hit by a cannonball,” Jim joked. There wasn’t much humor in it though.

Jim and Darius bid Nadir goodbye and walked over to the Sheriff’s Department. The doors were open. After Jim steeled himself for the possibility of seeing Hook again, they went inside. No one was around. No one except for the man at the front desk.

He was a short bearded man, about as short as Sleepy up at the school. He had a portly build and a very sunny disposition. Jim approached the desk. The man’s nametag read “Happy.” It was only slightly less strange than “Sleepy.”

The man rose from his seat. It didn’t make him much taller. “Hi there! How can I help you today?” It was a lot of enthusiasm for a police station.

“Hi,” Jim greeted him back. “Are Emma or David in? I need to speak with them right away. It’s urgent.”

“Oh, I’m afraid they’re out at the moment. I can take a message though,” the man said nicely.

Jim looked back at Darius. Darius narrowed his eyes. Be persistent.

“We’re detectives from Ingary. We’ve been helping them with the Hyde case. There’s been a major development. We’d have called them directly, but we don’t have phones,” Jim explained.

Happy thought for a moment. “Let me just give them a call. Name?”

Remember the right name. Remember the right name. “Philip Cassell,” Jim said, congratulating himself for such a simple feat.

Happy dialed Emma’s number into the keypad. “Hello, Emma? Hi! I’ve got a Philip Cassell here for you. He says he’s got new information on the Hyde case. Uh-huh. Oh, geez. Sure. No problem. Okay. Goodbye!” Happy hung up the phone.

Turning back to Jim, he said, “Emma and David are tied up right now with an incident at the hospital, but you’re welcome to wait-”

Jim had no intention of waiting. “The hospital?” He did the math. “Hyde escaped. Fuck! I knew this would happen!” Jim and Darius rushed out the door. “Thank you!” Jim called out to Happy as they left.

Happy waved them goodbye with a befuddled smile. “Anytime!”

Finding the hospital was fairly easy. Jim still had the town map that he had illegitimately acquired. It was on the south end of town. Emma’s blindingly yellow car was parked right outside the main entrance. Jim and Darius got a bit of a jolt when the glass doors slid open on their own. Jim assumed it was magic.

There was no immediate sign of David or Emma. The hospital seemed entirely intact and no one appeared too ill at ease. Well, no more than usual at a hospital. There was a lot of strange beeping equipment, but they didn’t have time to take it all in. They followed the signs to the psychiatric ward, ignoring any hospital staff that told them to stay back.

The door was ajar. From the top of the stairs, Jim could hear a man say, “Now will you stop using our psych ward to lock up your inmates?”

Jim descended the staircase. The voice belonged to a man in a long white jacket, presumably a doctor. He was somewhat handsome and a bit younger than Jim's physicians tended to be. However, his rigid posture conveyed a foul mood and Jim was hesitant to approach. When Jim reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw that the doctor was talking to David and Emma.

“You act like this happens a lot,” Emma fired back.

“I’ve read his book,” said the doctor. “That man is a danger. This is a hospital. People come here for healing. We’re lucky he didn’t feel like doing any damage on his way out. This is the last time we’re going to allow you to use this ward as your personal prison.”

Emma sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “What about Ariel?” Emma pointed to another cell next to the one they were standing by. “What are we supposed to do with her?”

“Leave her,” said the doctor reluctantly. “She’s in pain. She needs treatment. I don’t think she’s a flight risk.”

“Thank you, Dr. Frankenstein,” David said. “We’ll get back to work on constructing a proper jail. Don’t worry.”

Wait. Frankenstein, like the book? _The_ Frankenstein? Darius tugged at Jim’s sleeve. “I know. I know,” Jim told him.

Dr. Frankenstein exhaled audibly through his nose. “Please try to have it done before the next extradimensional threat comes along.” With that, he turned to leave. He saw Jim and Darius listening in on their conversation. “Who are you two? Are you authorized to be here? This is a hospital _and_ a crime scene.”

“Relax, doc,” said David. “They’re with us.”

Jim and Darius walked around the Doctor. He just shook his head and climbed the stairs to the hospital’s main wing. Jim peered into the cell that presumably once belonged to Hyde. There was no forced entry or exit. The door had just opened for him.

“What are you guys doing here?” asked Emma. “This couldn’t wait till we got back?”

Jim shook his head. “No,” he said severely.

Emma examined Jim’s face. His haggard appearance told her that, whatever it was, it was bad. The investigation in the psych ward was over. Emma and David brought them up to the hospital cafeteria where they could talk. David took Darius to get some soft-serve ice cream while Emma and Jim found a seat.

“So, what’s the deal?” Emma asked. “What did you walk all the way to the hospital to tell us?”

Jim looked over his shoulder. “I think I have a hunch about who let Hyde out,” Jim said hesitantly. He knew he was about to drop a big bombshell on this investigation.

“Who?” asked Emma, curious and slightly impatient.

Jim thought about how best to phrase it. “It’s the same person who sent Thomas after your parents, sent the sirens to attack the boat, and sent the mermaid girl after Ella. It’s Regina.”

Emma’s furrowed her brow. “Do you have proof or did you pull this straight out of your ass?”

“I don’t have physical evidence, but after the siren attack, I went looking for Darius in the woods. I had told him to hide while I swam over to save you. She showed up there, told me everything, and then she threatened to kill me if I got in her way again. She had a fucking fireball in her hand! It was so weird. She didn’t sound like herself, she didn't remember meeting me, and she was wearing this ridiculous ball gown.”

“Ball gown?” Emma questioned, completely perplexed. Her breath hitched when she had a realization.

“Yeah!” Jim confirmed, as if it was the most bizarre element of the story. “Like, she had hair up to here, her waist cinched in like this, and cleavage up to- Anyway, it was surreal.”

Emma’s eyes got wider and darker the longer Jim went on. Eventually, she stopped being able to look him in the eyes. David and Darius came over to the table. Darius was holding a massive but perfectly coiled ice cream cone.

“So, what’s happening? What's the big news?” asked David, carrying a much smaller cone.

“We need to call a meeting,” said Emma gravely. “As soon as possible at the mayor’s office.”

She grabbed her bag, slung it over shoulder, and got up to leave. Jim ran out in front of her.

“Wait! Wait! Hold on!” he said, stopping her in her tracks. “Are you going to arrest her or what?”

Emma didn’t respond right away. “We are going to look into it,” she replied, her mind elsewhere. “Thank you for letting us know. When we arrange the meeting, we’ll call Granny and have her give you the details. We’ll need you there as a witness.”

Jim leaned away. He was reluctant to come out at Emma’s informant. Emma must have noticed, because she added, “Don’t worry. She’s not going to kill you. Let’s go, Dad.” Emma hurried past Jim. He knew there wasn’t going to be a way to delay her further, so he didn’t bother trying.

David awkwardly vacillated between following Emma and staying with Jim. He seemed to be just as in the dark as Jim was. He gave Jim a pat on the shoulder. “Thanks for the information, guys. We’ll be in touch.”

“Thanks for the ice cream!” Darius called after him as he left.

David waved back. “Anytime, kid!” he said, before he followed his daughter out of the hospital.

After David and Emma were out of sight, Jim groaned and took a seat back at the table. Darius took Emma’s chair, happily gobbling down his ice cream. Jim had accomplished one goal. He told the cops about his encounter with Regina. However, he wasn’t able to mention Svengali or squeeze out any information about Hook. Overall, the mission was a failure. Or was it?

“Hey,” said Darius, “Emma left her phone thing here.”

Jim snapped to attention. There, on the table, was Emma’s cell phone. Suddenly, Jim got an idea. He got an awful idea. Jim got a wonderfully awful idea. He snatched it up before Darius could get his sticky fingers on it. “We should give this back to her,” Jim said innocently, stuffing the device in his pocket. “We’ll probably see her tomorrow.”

Jim and Darius both left the hospital elated. Darius had his frozen dessert and Jim had a window into all of Emma’s knowledge on Hook. Since she was his girlfriend, a fact that made Jim sick to his stomach, she more than anyone would have the most documented dirt on the Captain. Jim couldn’t wait to get home and crack this case wide open.

Back at Granny’s, Jim and Darius sat down for a late lunch. Jim, no longer quite as sick with stress, was able to scarf down a whole burger and fries without any consideration of what Nadir would eat. Jim would order another steak for him later and get the whole thing to go. Jim wiped the grease off his fingers and whipped out Emma’s phone.

He pushed the button on the front and illuminated the screen. “There’s a code? I don’t remember there being a code,” Jim complained. Then he let out a chuckle. This wasn’t going to slow him down.

He let the screen go dark and then breathed on it. It fogged up everything, exposing every fingerprint on the surface. Four specific collections of prints gathered over four numbers: 1, 3, 8, and 9. “Oh, this is too easy.” On any combination lock, people almost always use their birthdays. Cell phones, it seemed, were no different. Starting with the realm’s current year and subtracting Emma’s apparent age, Jim arrived at 1983. The phone unlocked.

“Emma, I really thought you were smarter than that,” Jim said, reveling in his own cleverness. Jim had only used a phone once before, but he was quite adept at adapting to new technology. “Let’s see. Someone has new messages.”

 

**Mom**

_Looking forward to seeing you tonight for dinner. Love you. <3_

 

**Dad**

_Running late. Meet you at the hospital in a few_

 

**Henry**

_OK, but next time there’s sirens, could you at least play something good? Thanx  
_

 

Jim laughed. He didn’t get a chance to talk to Henry long, but he seemed like a pretty neat kid. Jim continued his invasion of Emma’s privacy until he heard a ding. A new message! Jim gasped. It was from Hook.

 

**Hook**

_Sorry I missed your last text. I still hadn’t recharged my phone since the hiking trip._

_Hyde escaped? Bloody hell. Let me know if you need backup. He’s not going down as easy as Ariel did yesterday._

_Have you figured out what’s gotten into her yet?_

_It’s awfully strange. She sure gave Ella and Eric a fright._

_I’ll be at the ship tonight. There’s still a mess after those sirens attacked. Give my best to your family._

_I love you._

 

Jim was speechless. He set the phone down on the table, processing those last three words. He lost count of the times he heard Killian whisper that into his ear. He had seldom written it down though. It was too dangerous. Someone could find it.

To see Killian - or someone with his face – write and send those words so effortlessly was jarring. Jim shook it off. There was more important information in those messages. Namely, Hook was going to be at _The Jolly Roger_ tonight. Alone.

Jim didn’t have long to get ready. They went back up to their room. Darius had finished _Frankenstein_ , so he picked up _Dracula_ and started at the beginning. That was fine with Jim. He wasn’t sure if he was going to finish it anyway. Jim sat down at the table and began taking inventory of his supplies. He checked the sharpness of his blades, the bullet count in his gun. He shot a dart at the wall just to make sure the shooter worked.

“I thought those were throwing darts,” Darius said warily.

“They’re… versatile,” Jim replied. “Hey, why don’t you tell me what was in that _Frankenstein_ book? You know, since we met Dr. Frankenstein today.”

Darius reached over and grabbed the book. “He wasn’t very nice,” Darius commented, flipping the pages open. “In the story, Frankenstein accidentally makes a monster in a lab and he's so ugly that Frankenstein abandons it.

“Nobody accepts the Monster, so it starts going around killing people. The Monster’s just really lonely and it’s not his fault he wasn’t born right. He finds Frankenstein and asks him to make him a wife. If he can have one person to love him, he'll leave everyone else alone. He just wants to be happy like everybody else."

Something in that story was hitting Jim too close to home. “Did the Monster ever  get to be happy?”

“Frankenstein started making him a wife, but he killed her before he was finished. So the Monster chased him all over the world to get revenge. He killed Frankenstein's brother and his new wife and his friend Henry. He was really upset about Henry. It seemed like he cared the most about him. Anyway, the Monster really wanted to find Frankenstein.”

The story was unbearably familiar. Was Jim the Doctor or the Monster here?

“Did he get his revenge?” Jim asked. He wasn’t sure if he wanted the answer.

“No,” said Darius. “Frankenstein got sick and died and the Monster ran away to kill himself. It’s not a very happy ending.”

Jim hung his head. “No, stories like these don’t have happy endings. Monsters don’t get to live happily ever after.” He turned back to his work. He didn’t want Darius to see how puffy his eyes were getting.

Soon, everything was ready and in its proper place in Jim’s coat. It was still the afternoon and Jim didn’t want to just sit around and wait. He went to use the bathroom, then caught sight of himself in the mirror. What are the chances Hook would recognize him? What if there was some part of Killian in there still? Jim didn’t look like Jim. He hadn’t looked like himself for a very long time. If he was going to face Hook, that needed to change.

Jim grabbed the shaving kit Snow bought him and sequestered himself in the bathroom. His beard needed to go. It had grown merely because Jim lacked the will to keep shaving it. He just sloppily trimmed it whenever it started to get too long. He held the razor and looked himself in the eye. It was time.

Clumps of hair and shaving cream fell into the sink. Jim repeatedly shaved and rinsed, shaved and rinsed. He nicked himself a few times and soaked up the blood with toilet paper. He was prepared to get a little bloody tonight. Finally, Jim patted his face dry. All that remained were his sideburns and a patch of stubble at his chin.

For a brief second, he felt twenty years old again. Then a hundred years came crashing down on him like a pile of bricks. Turning his head, Jim caught sight of his ponytail. Another product of his sloth. That had to go too.

As much as Killian had liked Jim’s hair, he had never seen it halfway down his back before. Jim took a pair of scissors and hacked away at his mane until it was at his shoulders. The discarded hair lied on the bathroom tile like a brown serpent. Jim picked it up and threw it in the trash. He wasn’t the best barber, but Jim had to admit that he looked pretty good.

“See, you were sort of handsome once,” he said to himself.

Jim got in the shower and washed the remaining cuttings off his body. They had already begun to itch. Washing his hair was a breeze now. He was almost excited for how quickly it would dry. If only it hadn’t taken murder preparations for Jim to decide to take care of himself. Jim got out of the shower and toweled off.

There was a knock at the door. “Jim, are you done yet? I need to use the bathroom,” Darius whined.

“I’ll be out in a minute,” Jim answered. He wiped away any stray hairs he could find around the sink, then hurriedly dressed. When he opened the door, Darius was stunned.

“You look… different,” he astutely observed. “What happened to your beard? And your hair?”

Jim shrugged. “You said I should cut it,” he said, making light of his transformation. “You were right. It does dry faster. The bathroom’s all yours.”

Darius shut the door and Jim took a seat again at the table. He wasn’t ready to stop admiring his reflection. He found Emma’s phone, went to the camera, and inverted the perspective. He held the phone up like a mirror and tried to remember the last time he looked so young.

At some point during his adventures, Jim gave up on presentation. He’d clean himself up if he thought there was a chance of some clandestine meeting with a fair stranger somewhere. Those were few and far between. His most recent liaison had been with a man named Dorian. For him, Jim trimmed his beard and brushed his hair and called it good. But this was for Killian. He, or his killer, would get nothing short of Jim’s best.

Ding! A message slid down in front of Jim's face in the camera. Hook again.

 

**Hook**

_You're probably still busy dealing with Hyde's nonsense. Just wanted to tell you, I’m having a quick bite to eat then heading down to the ship. I'll see you later.  
_

He added a heart icon at the end. Yuck. Jim had no time to lose. Darius emerged from the bathroom to find Jim putting on his coat.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“Out,” replied Jim. “It’s pirate hunter business. I’ll be back later. If you get bored, go find Ruby or Dorothy and see if there’s anything they need help with. Do not leave the inn. Understood?”

Darius was unaffected by Jim’s haste and intensity. “Are you gonna catch him?” he asked calmly but directly.

“Either I will or I never will,” Jim told him. “Now you be good. I’ve got business to take care of.”

Jim left the building and stormed down the sidewalk to the docks. The sun was getting low. The concentration of people and cars receded like the tide. Clouds rolled in from over the ocean, carried by a gust of air that distinctly smelled of brine. By the time Jim had reached the docks, the town of Storybrooke had transformed itself from something alien to a still frame from the highlights of Jim’s pirate hunting career.

This could have been any night in the past seventy years. It all felt so natural, Jim nearly forgot his nerves. He stood on the dock, gazing up at the Jolly Roger. A dock. A ship. An ocean. Jim checked his pockets. His cutlass. His knives. His guns. Everything was there. All that was missing was the pirate.

There was no car parked out front, but Jim wasn’t sure Hook could even drive one-handed anyway. Jim felt a raindrop on his face. He smiled. The bastard was going to walk there in the rain. He’d be tired and drenched, an easy mark. Jim hurried to the captain’s quarters, which were still unlocked. The last step was to wait in the darkness until Hook arrived.

Jim found the closet and hid. He waited and waited. He probably stood there for an hour and a half, peering through the door and waiting for Hook to come inside. He almost took out Emma's phone to check for texts when he heard the sound of a wet boot slapping against the deck. Jim readied his dart gun.

His listened to the footsteps outside, walking about the deck in the rain. “He must be inspecting the damage,” Jim thought. “He’ll come in. Just need to be patient.” The footsteps got closer. Jim’s heart beat faster. He had one chance and he could not afford to waste it. He would have his answers and then soon he would have blood.

A beam of light and howling wind told Jim the door was open. He couldn’t see Hook yet. He had to wait until Hook was far enough into the room that Jim could rush between him and the door. Jim saw his shadow. The hook was carved out cleanly in the darkness. It made Jim seethe.

Jim jumped when the lights came on. Electricity? On a pirate ship? Someone was getting with the times. Jim could see him clearly now. He was wearing a rain-soaked leather jacket and dark denim pants. Jim never pictured Hook adapting to modernity.

“Look at this bloody mess,” Hook bemoaned to himself. “I should have come hours ago. This is going to take forever to pick up.”

Killian’s voice. The man was a patchwork quilt of contradictions. Killian’s face and voice, the Captain’s hook, and in his hand, a cell phone. Who was he calling? Jim almost laughed when he saw the Captain poke the buttons with his hook.

He started to speak into the phone. “Listen, love, the ship is a complete disaster. I might be home late tonight. Don’t wait up for me.” He pressed another button and put the phone away. He was calling Emma. Hook hadn’t left a voicemail though. He sent a dictated text message. Oh, shit.

Ding! Hook whipped around. “Who’s there?” he barked, reaching around for a weapon. His hand found a sword. Bad choice.

He looked around for the source of the sound, coming closer and closer to Jim’s hiding place. His heart was pounding and his stomach was churning, but Jim swallowed his fear and leapt out of the closet. He landed right behind Hook. Hook turned with his sword ready, but Jim was too quick. He pulled the trigger, shooting a dart loaded with sedative straight into Hook’s neck.

Hook dropped the sword. “Aw, fuck, that hurts!” he hissed, yanking the dart out. It was too late. Hook started staggering around like a drunkard. “What did you do to me? Who are you?” Even his speech was slurred. Hook tripped and fell to his knees.

Jim knew what was happening to his system. His vision was blurring. His limbs were weakening. With the gentlest kick, Jim was able to knock Hook right over. Jim loomed over him, grinning maniacally. He couldn’t believe he actually did it. Of course, the night wasn’t over yet.

“Nighty-night,” Jim taunted as Hook finally lost consciousness. He poked Hook’s face with his foot. It felt wrong to be assailing Killian’s perfect visage like this, but Jim was convinced now that this man could not be his lost love. Therefore, bearing Killian’s likeness was tantamount to theft and Jim was not about to let that go unpunished. Jim left Hook’s sleeping body lying in his quarters. He needed to find some rope.

 

* * *

 

Hook slowly came back to his senses. His memory of what had happened was fuzzy. One moment, he had been on _The Jolly Roger._ The next, he blacked out. He was in his chair. He could feel the grooves of the carved mahogany under his hand. Maybe he’d just fallen asleep at his desk.

Then Hook opened his eyes. He was blindfolded. The only thing he could see was the light poking through the fabric. Hook tried to move, but his arms and legs had been tied to the chair by some impressive sailor knots. The only thing Hook took comfort in was a gentle rocking that told him he was still on his ship.

“Hello? Is someone there? Hello?” Hook called out. He began to panic. “Somebody get me out of this bloody thing!”

“Oh, good. You’re awake,” said a strange man’s voice. It was vaguely familiar, but Hook couldn’t quite place it.

Hook heard the man’s footsteps approach. Now he remembered. The stranger had jumped out of the closet and shot a dart into his neck. Hook recalled the vague outline of his face as he passed out.

“Those drugs really knock you on your ass, don’t they?” the man teased, leaning over Hook.

Hook tried to keep calm. This wasn’t the first time he’d been tied up and likely wouldn’t be the last. “All right, who are you and what do you want with me?” Hook demanded. “I’ve got a girlfriend waiting at home, so let’s hurry things along, shall we?”

“What’s the hurry? Emma isn’t going anywhere,” said the stranger.

“How do you know her name?” Hook asked, his heart rate elevating. Ding! That sound. It was Emma’s phone. “What have you done with Emma? If you’ve laid even one finger on her, I’ll-” He wrestled against his restraints to no avail.

“Relax,” the man said. “Emma’s having dinner with her parents tonight, remember? However, she should be more careful about where she leaves her phone. You may also want to tell her to get a new passcode. I mean, her birth year? Really?”

Hook was relieved to know that Emma was safe. Everything was starting to come back to him now. This must be the man Jefferson had been warning him about, but his voice… He knew they had met before.

“Where do I know you from?” Hook asked. “Wait. I know that voice. You’re the bloke who saved us from the sirens! What was your name? Philip something?”

The man grunted in frustration, like he’d been hoping for a different answer. “Cassell. Philip Cassell,” Jim corrected him.

“Why did you tell my friend your name was Killian Jones?” asked Hook, trying to put the pieces together.

Hook's captor groaned. “If we’re being honest, I was a little drunk that night and forgot my alias. That was the first name that came to mind.”

“So you’re not even Philip, then?” It was only becoming more confusing. Hook didn’t know why Philip, or whoever he was, was toying with him so much. “Who the hell are you? You’re one of the folks from Ingary, right? How’d you find me? Are you working with Hyde?”

Hook heard the jangle of a chain. “I found you with this,” said the stranger. He let the chain drop right by Hook’s ear. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. It was a sound Hook heard in his nightmares. “What is that, some kind of watch?”

The man put the watch away. “Yes, sir. A little crocodile gave it to me a long, long time ago.”

The Crocodile, of course. Hook sighed. “If you’re here on the Dark One’s orders, then you can just let me go. We’ve settled our differences.”

“I’m here for reasons all my own,” the man said cryptically.

“Listen, mate, I’ve pissed off a lot of people in my life and I’m not going to remember them all. So quit playing games and tell me why I’m tied to this bloody chair!” Hook strained against the ropes again. “This is some good rope work, I’ve gotta say.”

The man chuckled. “Thanks. I was near the top of my class at the Eton Royal Naval Academy.”

“Small world. I was valedictorian,” said Hook proudly. “Now please kindly tell me what you want. Are you here to kill me? ‘Cause you might as well get on with it.”

The man started laughing in earnest. “Kill you? I’m not going to kill you. At least, not yet. I’m here for answers. If I like the answers you give me, maybe I’ll let you live.”

Hook had no idea what this lunatic was talking about, but he had no choice but to play along. Hopefully, help was on the way. Maybe if he just kept the man talking long enough, backup would arrive. “All right!” Hook relented. “What do you want to know?”

He could hear the man start pacing. “So, you’re Captain Hook, correct? I’ve been hunting you for a long time, Captain. You’re my life’s work. It was a bit of an anticlimax when we finally met yesterday. You don’t look at all how I expected. Tell me, Captain. What’s your real name?”

Hook was befuddled. “Killian Jones,” he answered.

“Wrong!” The stranger slammed his fist on the table, scaring the living daylights out of Hook. “Captain Hook murdered Killian Jones. Lieutenant Jones was killed in action by Hook during a raid on his ship.”

Hook didn’t know how this man knew about his days in the navy, but they certainly didn’t overlap with his days as a pirate. “I don’t know where you heard that story, but it never happened. Killian Jones is Captain Hook, always has been.”

“Not always. The Killian I know wouldn’t just abandon the navy and become a pirate. The real Killian wouldn’t give up the sea to settle down in some backwater dung heap of a town. _My_ Killian wouldn’t have disappeared for seventy-five years without so much as a fucking goodbye!” The man was yelling himself hoarse.

 _His_ Killian? Who was this man? “You know, mate, if you don’t know that we’re one and the same, you must have known me _long_ before I was Captain Hook,” Hook argued.

The man inhaled sharply. “Well, I can guaran-damn-tee you, if you were really Killian Jones, you would have recognized me when you saw me!” The man took a step back. “Then again, seven decades do tend to change a person. Do you recognize me now?”

He reached over and tore off Hook’s blindfold. Hook took a second to adjust to the light, then the man’s face came into focus. For a fraction of a second, Hook couldn’t pin down just why the man seemed so familiar. Then it hit him like a punch to the face.

The peak of his hairline, the cut of his jaw, the single earring dangling from his right ear. It all came together. Everything he said ran back through Hook’s ears. He was too deep in disbelief to put it all together. The past had felt too dead and buried to ever be exhumed. But here he was standing before him looking almost like the day they met. Hook was at a loss for words.

“It can’t be,” Hook whispered. A name escaped his lips that he hadn’t said in nearly a lifetime. “Jim. Jim Hawkins.”

Jim crossed his arms, staring down Hook. “So you do know me. I figured you might. You don’t chase a guy for close to a century without him hearing something about you.”

It became quite clear that Jim was out of touch with his own eyes. It may have been a long time since their last meeting in Porthaven, but Jim still looked like Jim, and Hook still looked like Hook.

Hook. That was the problem. Jim couldn’t reconcile Captain Hook with the man Killian used to be. He was also restlessly playing with a knife. This Jim was much more dangerous than before. Hook knew his life rested on making Jim see the light.

“Jim, it’s me. It’s Killian. I can prove it to you,” Hook said, trying to reach out to the man he once knew.

“Liar!” Jim snapped at him. “I don’t know what you did – took his form, stole his body – but my Killian is not Captain Hook. Don’t try to trick me. I know him better than anyone.”

 _My Killian._ A little piece of Hook broke inside. He hadn’t been referred to that way in ages. The fact that Jim was still calling him that after all these years was too much.

“He knows you pretty well too,” Hook replied, sadly smiling.

Jim narrowed his eyes. “You don’t know the first thing about me.”

Hook dove deep into his memory. “Your mother was an innkeeper named Sarah. Your father Leland left when you were ten years old. Your middle name is Pleiades, your grandfather’s name. You made me swear not to tell anyone.”

“How do you know all that?” Jim asked, backing away nervously.

“You told me because you trusted me more than anyone. Let’s see…” Killian tried to think of more things to say. “You like the taste of coconut, but you hate the texture,” he said.

“So does everyone!” Jim shot back. He was starting to tremble. The knife in his hand was shaking. Either Jim would crack or he’d murder him on the spot.

Hook brought out the big guns. “We met on a voyage from Porthaven to Treasure Island when we were seventeen. The three of us – you, me, and my brother Liam – we enrolled at the Royal Naval Academy. We stayed in the same room. Do you remember?”

“Stop. Stop it!” Jim ordered. He dropped the knife. Jim hit the wall and started clutching his head.

Hook thought of a good one. “One time, I dared you to lick a frog, thinking you’d never do it. You got so high, we almost had to take you to an infirmary. Remember that?” Hook even started laughing. It was driving Jim insane.

“Shut up! Shut up!” Jim begged, covering his ears.

Good memories. Private memories. Something had to break through. “I made you come to Pleasure Island with me once on holiday. You didn’t want to go, but I talked you into getting on one of the rides with me. You were actually having fun until you threw up over the side.”

Killian was beaming with nostalgia. He almost forgot he was tied up. Jim could only hold his head and scream. What had the years done to him?

Hook was afraid to say this last tidbit, but it was the only thing left in his arsenal. “It didn’t stop me from kissing you later when the fireworks went off.”

Jim stopped yelling and thrashing about. He stared at him from his spot wedged between the wall and an oak credenza. Hook had him backed into a literal corner, and he was still tied down tight to a chair.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jim said, petrified with fear.

“Then why are you crying?” Hook asked, every word laden with sympathy and sadness.

Jim broke down. He stopped resisting the truth that he already knew deep inside. Jim looked up at Hook with red, glassy eyes. “Killian?” he whimpered.

“Jim,” Hook replied tenderly.

Jim began to sob. He crawled on his hands and knees over to Hook. He cradled Hook’s face. “I don’t understand. This can’t be… How can this be you?” He held the hook in his hand. Jim released it like he had been burned. He stood back up and looked around. “This is… This is you?”

“Aye,” Hook confessed. “I know it’s different than what you’re used to.”

“How?” Jim cried. “Why?”

“It’s a long story,” Hook said gently. “Care to untie me so we can talk?”

Jim turned back around. He was no longer in denial. Jim was now firmly in the anger stage. “A long story? Yeah. I imagine it must be. You abandon the navy! You never visit! You never write! I go searching for you across the whole goddamn kingdom. And then one day, what do I hear? Captain Hook, scourge of the seas, murdered the one person I ever cared about in a raid! Decades later, turns out you and the Captain are one and the same! So, yeah, I expect that you have a very good explanation.”

Jim picked up the knife. Hook didn’t think he could talk him down again. Out of the corner of his eye, Hook spotted someone coming through the door. The cavalry had arrived. They quickly ducked their head back out. Hook just had to keep Jim talking a little while longer.

“What about you?” Hook asked, intentionally being thick. “Where have you been? Shouldn’t you be-?”

“Dead by now?” Jim finished for him. “You’re one to talk. It is quite a story, but I’m the one asking the questions right now.”

“At least tell me what you’re doing in Storybrooke,” Hook goaded him.

Jim rolled his eyes. “What do you think, you idiot?” he spat, completely losing control of his tongue. “You’re what I’m doing in Story-!”

Jim yelped when he felt something sharp pierce his shoulder. He looked and saw a dart sticking out of the thin fabric of his shirt. That’s what he got for removing his jacket. Jim glanced over and saw Henry holding his dart gun. And that was the last thing Jim saw.


	7. The Return of the Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim demands that Hook tell him the truth. Hook asks Jim to keep things a secret. The Evil Queen makes her public debut after getting some help from Mr. Hyde and some very spooky ladies.

_"You’re nothing without me, a no one who’ll go undefined. You wouldn’t exist. You’ll never be missed. I tell you, you’re out of my mind!"_ \- "You’re Nothing Without Me”, _City of Angels_

* * *

 

Jim awoke face-down on the floor with a splitting headache. As his vision unclouded, he tried to remember exactly what had happened. The last thing he could recall was Killian prattling off a list of memories they shared until Jim was forced to concede that, yes, Killian Jones and Captain Hook were one and the same. Now Killian had escaped. The ropes that had bound him were lying around the chair in a severed pile. Fuck. At least now Jim had his answer, but it raised so many more questions. Each one made his heart hurt badly.

Where had Killian been all this time? Why did he leave without so much as a goodbye? And what in God's name possessed him to become a pirate? 

The fog over Jim's brain slowly receded. He could have sat propped against the wall for hours, coming to grips with the news. He didn't have the luxury of time. Jim glanced over and saw the dart still sticking out of his shoulder. “Oh, right,” Jim thought. “Henry.”  Jim plucked out the dart with a wince. The kid had good aim.

The world came back into focus quickly. _Henry_. How much did he hear? More importantly, Jim’s cover was now completely blown. He had to do damage control and fast before any of this got back to Emma or her family. Jim sprang to his feet far too quickly and stumbled around in a daze. He braced himself against Killian’s desk, which is where he found a hastily scribbled note.

_Sorry about this. Really. - K._

Jim and Killian never signed notes to each other with their names, only initials. If there was ever anything compromising, it gave them plausible deniability. Once, Killian's brother Liam found a somewhat amorous note from Jim on Killian's nightstand. Killian played it off as being from some girl named Jane. Liam was proud of his little brother, but warned him not to end up married at gunpoint. Jim and Killian had a good laugh about that later.

”That’s all he has to say for himself?” Jim said angrily, wadding up the note and tossing over his shoulder. Jim knew what had to be done next.

To regain control of the situation and get his answers, he’d have to track down Killian again. Immediately. As Jim donned his coat, he found two surprises. First, someone had taken his favorite knife. Jim would have been furious. However, that same someone had forgotten to also take Emma’s phone along with them. Finding Killian again was going to be as easy as pressing a button. Jim entered the passcode and located the Find My Friends app. Jim was glad the rain had stopped. It was going to be a bit of a walk.

 

* * *

 

Somewhere deep in the forest, Hyde strode into the atrium of a grand, empty mansion. Each heavy step reverberated throughout the rafters. He looked around at the building’s sparse interior. A chandelier hung above. A harpsichord sat in the corner. Oriental rugs were abundant. Much of it, however, was surprisingly bare. “Where are we exactly?” asked Hyde.

Regina came up behind him, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor. She dropped the Storybook onto a round marble table in the center of the room. “Lakeside Manor, also known as the Sorcerer’s Mansion,” she explained. “It came with the curse. Whoever first concocted it must have expected Merlin to be joining us. Sadly, he was stuck in a tree at the time. They rent the place out for weddings and stuff now.”

Hyde turned up his nose. “What a waste of a beautiful building,” he commented.

“Don’t worry,” said Regina. “It’ll make a much better hideout.” She strode over to the dining room window and snapped her fingers. Hyde watched through the curtains as sparks of magic fell in a dome over the lake. “We don’t want any uninvited guests, now do we? I put wards around the whole estate. No one’s getting in without our say-so.”

Hyde chuckled quietly, impressed by Regina's power and amused by her cleverness. “As long as my friends can still pass through. I've summoned them for a meeting tonight,” he told her, returning to his default gloomy demeanor.

“Yes, your friends,” Regina said, approaching him. “The Black Coats, was it? I'm so looking forward to meeting them. I’ve been very curious to know who else is in our little party.”

Soon, the doorbell rang. “That must be them now,” said Hyde, leading Regina back to the front of the mansion. Hyde opened the heavy wooden door. On the porch stood two hauntingly beautiful women in hooded cloaks. They had faded  skin and blood-red lips, like demonic renderings of Snow White.

“Verona, Marishka, you’re right on time,” Hyde greeted them. He held out the door for them, but they didn’t move. “Please, come inside.” The two women crossed the threshold into the abandoned mansion.

“So, _Edvard_ , you finally found us a place to sleep?” asked the taller of the two. She had a narrow face and auburn hair. The women uncovered their heads and let their long hair flow freely.

“We've been hiding in the mines beneath the town,” the other one said bitterly. She was a curly-haired blonde. Her features were rounder, but her face was full of contempt. “It’s disgusting down there.”

Both Verona and Marishka turned their heads to Regina. “Who’s this?” the tall one asked, looking her up and down with a skeptical brow. She didn’t seem to think much of Regina.

Regina scoffed, affronted. She was ready to charge at the woman, hands blazing. She'd show her who she was dealing with. Then the woman opened her mouth to reveal a full set of fangs. Regina pulled back. Vampires.

“Nice dress,” said the short blonde one, eyeing Regina's ensemble with thinly veiled disdain. "Is it Walpurgis Nacht already?" she giggled.

“Shut up, Marishka,” snapped the first, presumably Verona.

Hyde stepped between the three women. “Ladies, don't be rude. This is Queen Regina. She’s our new benefactor,” he half-heartedly scolded. "She's the one who found this lovely new home for us. We ought to be grateful."

Verona and Marishka crossed their arms and made no apologies. They further explored the house, scrutinizing everything they saw. Verona ran her finger along a shelf and looked at the dust. She grimaced, but offered no other remarks.

Hyde also made no apologies for his friends. Instead, he practically genuflected to them. “Regina, allow me to introduce Countesses Verona and Marishka De Ville,” said Hyde magnanimously.

Regina was taken aback by their name. “De Vil? As in...?” she trailed off, afraid of the answer. That name was a blight on humanity.

“Distant relatives,” Verona said, confirming Regina's fears. “We've never met, though we've heard many stories. We don't often fraternize with your kind, unlike her great-grandfather."

Before Regina could ask what she meant, Marishka cut in. "Whenever our kinds crossbreed, that's when the _real_ monsters are made. It takes a few generations, but eventually one will be born like her. They cannot drink the blood, but they hunger for it just the same. We kill to live. They live to kill."

"Not like her though," Verona added. "There was never one as vicious, as insatiable as her."

That sounded like a certain someone. Regina was thoroughly bewildered by what they were saying. "Are you telling me that Cruella was a...?" She couldn't finish the sentence. It was too preposterous. 

Marishka smiled, showing her fangs. She nodded knowingly. "Only one-eighth. If she had been full-blooded, the mortal world would have been doomed. Is it true she became the _Dark One_?” Marishka said in a whisper. Both Verona and Marishka approached Regina with eager curiosity.

“It was a foolish move on her part,” Regina told them, straightening her spine. She wasn't about to be intimidated by a couple of bloodsuckers. 

Verona narrowed her eyes. “How so?” she inquired.

Regina set her hands on her hips. “First, she threatened my son, so obviously she had to die. I didn't kill her, but I wish I had the honors. Then the dumb bitch decides to take the Darkness from a dead pirate and crown herself Queen of the Underworld."

"Sounds like a victory to me," said Marishka, trading looks with her... sister? Regina wasn't quite sure.

Regina held out her finger to silence her. "I'm not done. _Then_ she wraps herself in the Golden Fleece – which any idiot will tell you dampens dark magic – and Persephone, the real queen, sends her attack dogs to drag Cruella to hell where she belongs. She was a real sucker for furs.”

Verona and Marishka both sighed, their excitement fading into disappointment. "What a waste," said Verona despondently. “All that darkness, gone.”

Hyde stepped back into the room. He had been pacing in the parlor while Regina recounted Cruella's demise and subsequent damnation. “As riveting a tale as this is, where is your leader?” Hyde asked the De Villes, growing impatient. “I expected to see you all here this evening. And have you gotten any word from Svengali or the Doctor?”

Marishka took the question. “The Master is buried deep in the woods,” she answered. “Vasilica is there now keeping watch. We'll exhume the coffin once everything is ready. As for the others, the Phantom is hiding at the old church. We'd have paid him a visit, but you know what happens when we step on hallowed ground."

"And who cares about the Doctor?" added Verona. "It's not like we need him for much anymore."

"If he wants his reward, he'll have to turn up sooner or later," said Hyde.

Verona moved directly into Hyde's path. "Speaking of rewards, how much longer will we have to wait?" she demanded. "The rattling from the coffin shakes the ground. You can hear the agony through six feet of dirt. Tell me it will be soon."

“Have patience,” Hyde told her, only angering her more. “Our new friend has found us precisely what we need. Regina, care to explain?”

Regina, Hyde, Verona, and Marishka gathered around the table that held the Storybook. Regina flipped through the pages and opened to an illustration of Snow White and Prince Charming. It was their wedding day.  

“This volume contains true stories from the Enchanted Forest before I cast the Dark Curse. There I am. And your cousin fourteen-times-removed? She's here too." Regina turned to a page featuring Cruella next to a woman with tentacles for legs and another woman with dragon horns. "In fact, the Author of this book used his magic to take away her power to kill. Humans, at least."

"Then he saved countless worlds," said Verona. "What will this do for us?" 

Regina passed the book to the De Villes. "Recently, we found others just like it containing tales from other lands. Your homeland, several versions of Paris, New York, and London - including Cruella's - Camelot, Ingary. You name it, it’s there.”

Marishka and Verona took the book and flipped through it. “I’ve seen these people in town,” said Marishka. She stopped on a page featuring Captain Hook. “Ooh, I’d like to suck his blood,” she said lasciviously, running her finger along the illustration. "Is this the dead pirate?"

"He made a miraculous recovery," Regina stated with a resentful monotone. “Help yourself.”

Marishka perked up and passed the book to Verona. She also got a good look at Hook. The thirsty look on Verona's face conveyed a similar sentiment to Marishka's. “Where are these books?” Verona demanded, remembering herself. “Do you have them?”

“No,” Hyde interjected. “That is what we need you for. The books are being held in a secure location in a place called New York City. You must go find them and bring them back here. Then we'll have what we need to proceed with the plan.”

“You’ll find them at the New York Public Library,” Regina added, ripping the Storybook out of Verona’s hand. “They all look exactly like this.”

Verona and Marishka glanced at each other. “We’ll need Vasilica,” Verona said. Marishka nodded. The two vampires marched back to the front door. Hyde and Regina followed. “Which way to this New York City?” Verona turned and asked.

“Fly south along the coast until you reach a city with towers taller than the spires of Scholomance,” Hyde instructed. “And if that doesn’t help, get a map.”

Verona sneered at Hyde's sarcasm. She flung open the doors with magic. A gust of wind blew inside, billowing her cloak and hair. "Come, Marishka," Verona said, looking up toward the sky. “Time to fly.”

Verona and Marishka stepped out onto the veranda. The waning moon beamed down brightly upon them. They both spread their arms, beginning to hover in midair. Regina watched, transfixed, as the women transformed into a pair of brown bats and flew away into the night. She stared after them until Hyde cleared his throat and closed the door again.

“Now that that's out of the way, there's just one more matter to attend to,” Hyde said, walking back to the atrium. “For us to achieve our ends, I need a few other items. Unfortunately, you murdered my best thief while he was in action.”

“More like my worst assassin,” Regina sourly returned. “Don’t worry. If it's a thief you need, I have the perfect replacement in mind. Plus, I think we have just the right incentive to get him back into the game. How well do you think you can impersonate your other half?”

Hyde mulled the idea over. He wasn't quite sure where Regina was going with this, but it sounded like it might be fun. “That fool?” Hyde smirked. “Perfectly.”

Regina surprised Hyde by pulling him toward her by the lapels of his coat. "Wonderful," she purred. "Then tomorrow, _Mayor Regina_ will bring her good friend Jefferson here to meet Dr. Jekyll." She giggled flirtatiously. 

"And in the meantime?" asked Hyde curiously as Regina inched closer to him.

Biting lightly on her lip, Regina undid the button on his jacket. She ran her hand up Hyde's chest beneath the fabric. He had his answer. Regina grabbed Hyde by the collar and planted a firm kiss on his lips. Hyde dug his hands into the bustle of her skirt and pulled her in tighter. Regina broke the kiss and saw her lipstick smeared across Hyde's mouth. She licked her thumb and wiped it off.

"Mr. Hyde, I think we are going to work very well together," she said, loosening Hyde's tie. 

She pulled him to her and they kissed again. Hyde picked Regina up and carried her away up the grand staircase toward the master bedroom. As the two of them became more than just conspirators together, three bats flew past the mansion en route to New York City.

 

* * *

 

Hook descended the steps from his house to the sidewalk, bag of garbage in hand. He had been watching old recordings of _Game of Thrones_ with Emma and needed a break. It wasn't the show. Hook's night had been too much for him to handle. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to share any of it with his girlfriend. There's no way she'd understand. Sitting there with her, acting like nothing was wrong, was driving him absolutely mad.

He still couldn't believe it. Jim was alive. He'd been searching for him ever since Hook defected against the crown. That was nearly eighty years ago. Right? The time Hook spent in Neverland permanently his sense of time.

Hook sat down on the lowest step and wearily rubbed his eye. When he became a pirate and disappeared, he expected Jim would just move on. It wasn't easy to leave, and he didn't imagine it would be any easier for Jim. Still, he pictured Jim settling down with a nice girl, finding a good job, and starting a family. He didn't wish any of this on him. Hook only had himself to blame.

Hook got up, threw the garbage in the dumpster, and turned to go back inside, feeling a lot like garbage himself. He knew he would have to account for all of this sooner or later, but he was glad that for now it was over. He took a deep breath and prepared to go back to Emma.

”Hey, sweetheart.”

Hook nearly jumped ten feet in the air. He clutched at his heart. It wasn't over after all. Just his luck.

“Where you been?” said a familiar voice.

Hook turned back around, gasping. There was Jim, casually leaning against the mailbox, just waiting for Hook to come out of the house. He sauntered over to him, stepping between Hook and the safety of his home. At least, Jim was unarmed this time.

”I’ve been waiting forever for you,” Jim continued with a vaguely seductive tone. He cupped Hook's chin like he was about to kiss him. “ _Forever_.” Jim practically growled that last word, tightly squeezing Hook's face. Jim wasn’t referring to how long he’d been waiting outside. He meant far longer than that.

”Bloody hell, Jim! What are you doing here? You couldn’t have waited till at least tomorrow?” Hook said, batting his hand away and taking a big step back. He whispered, “Emma’s home.”

”It could have waited if there wasn't a kid running around who saw me tie you to a chair,” Jim returned sarcastically. “How much did he hear? What did you tell him?”

Hook took a seat again on the steps. “Thankfully, not much. I told him it was old pirate business and not to worry himself about it. I said I’d settle things peacefully with you later, that it was all just a big misunderstanding. I also asked him not to worry his mother with it. She has enough on her mind as it is.”

Jim looked up at Hook’s cozy little house, perfect for a family. “Is Henry your son?” he asked, dreading the answer.

”No,” answered Hook. Jim relaxed his shoulders, relieved. “He’s from a past relationship of Emma’s. His father passed away a few years ago.”

”Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” Jim said sincerely. Another boy without a father. It was a recurring theme in his life, it seemed.

”How the hell did you find me?” Hook asked, his voice hushed. He got up and dragged Jim by the arm around the corner and out of sight.

Jim shook off Hook's grip and withdrew Emma’s phone from his pocket. “Is there anything these things can’t do?” he said with a smirk. He waved the phone in front of Hook almost mockingly.

Hook snatched the phone from Jim’s hand. “She’s been looking for that," he said, stuffing the device into his jeans. "What are you doing here, Jim? What do you want?”

”You mean on your doorstep or in general?” Jim asked.

”You always were a cheeky bastard," Hook muttered. "Both, I suppose?”

Jim crossed his arms and leaned against an adjacent fence. ”In general, I was here to avenge your death," he said more casually than called for. "And I’m here right now because, well...” Jim sighed and looked down the street at a passing car.

Hook knew what Jim wanted. “You want to know why I’m not dead,” he finished. There was sadness in his voice and more than a bit of guilt.

”Among other things,” said Jim. It was nice for Hook to know that, for all the ways he'd changed over the years, Jim never lost his juvenile passive-aggressiveness.

Hook sighed. “Can't it wait? I know you must have plenty of questions and, if you promise not to kill me, I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. Just not now. Please.”

Jim let out a disgruntled breath and hugged his own arms tighter to his chest. “Fine. When?”

Hook ran his fingers back through his hair, scratching his head. ”I don’t know, mate. How's tomorrow afternoon for you?” Hook asked.

Jim shrugged. ”You were the only thing on my agenda, so...” he answered with a tangible amount of snark.

Hook let that pass by. He felt bad enough. “There’s going to be a meeting at City Hall at noon. I take it you’re staying at Granny’s? I’ll meet you there after for lunch.”

”If the meeting is about what I think it is, then I’ll just see you there,” Jim said. He buttoned his coat. It was getting cold and he was comfortable enough with his answers to leave Hook be for now.

Hook was uneasy about having Jim and Emma in the same room tomorrow, but it was out of his control. “Listen, in case Henry does say something, would you mind just playing along?” Hook asked.

”What do you mean?” Jim was confused.

Hook leaned in and whispered even softer. ”You know, the whole 'pirate business' thing,” he said. “Can we just stick to that?”

“Why?” Jim asked. 

“You know why,” Hook replied, looking Jim straight in the eye.

Jim understood. Like everywhere else they’d been together, it seemed Storybrooke was also not a safe place for people like them. “All right. Deal.” They shook on it. “I’m very interested in hearing your story. Considering I spent the last seventy years of my life chasing down a lie, I'd really like to know the truth.”

”I never lied to you,” said Hook, not breaking eye contact. “Not once in my life.”

”What about when you said we'd always be together?" replied Jim, struggling very hard to keep his emotions in check. "What about when you swore that you'd be the one who would never abandon me?" 

Jim's words shamed Hook. He felt like he'd been gutted. He had no words. Hook held his stomach, like he was trying to contain viscera that Jim reached in and tore out. "I meant it when I said it," was the best he could do. "It's... It's complicated."

"I'll bet it is," said Jim bitterly, spitting on the ground. "Oh, before I forget, have you seen my lucky knife? The one you gave me for my birthday?”

”You mean the one you were threatening me with? Henry has it,” Hook informed him.

“I'd like it back,” Jim requested. He shuffled his feet, embarrassed. "It means something to me."

Hook began walking back to the house. He had to before the conversation went further down this rabbit hole. He couldn't handle it. “Good luck," said Hook, sucking out any sentiment. "He’s very proud of it. Sort of his trophy for taking down his first pirate. You remember when we were his age.”

Jim's focus was pulled two ways. "The kid's a good shot, I'll admit. But at his age, if I caught a pirate threatening you, they wouldn't live to tell the tale. Also, you told him I was a _pirate_?!” Jim was livid at being labeled something that heinous. It may as well have been a slur.

”What was I supposed to say?” Hook asked, taken aback by Jim’s outburst.

”I’ve been telling people I’m a detective,” said Jim, flabbergasted. "Including Emma and her family! If this reaches them, I'm screwed."

Hook threw up his hands. ”My apologies! You were the one who drugged me and interrogated me at knifepoint,” he retorted.

Jim looked away in shame. The weight of his actions crashed down on him. How could he have done that to Killian, _his Killian?_ “I didn’t know that you were you. At least, it didn’t want to believe it. You know I would never hurt you. No more ropes. No more weapons. All right? I just want to talk.”

”I’d like that. And I'll help smooth things over with the others if need be,” said Hook earnestly. He wanted to reach out and touch Jim's shoulder, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. “Listen, mate, Emma’s waiting for me. I’ve gotta get back inside.”

Right. Emma. The girlfriend. “I understand," said Jim, turning away. "I’ll see you tomorrow.”

With that, Hook and Jim parted ways. Hook walked back inside the house. He blamed his extended absence on needing a short walk to clear his head. It was a flimsy excuse.

Jim began the long walk back to Granny’s. On the way, it started raining again, hard. Rain dripped down his face. It gave Jim permission to cry, not that anyone was around to see. He began this night expecting closure. Instead, he felt more lost than ever. Here he was, a stranger in a strange town, wandering the empty streets and reevaluating decade after decade of decisions.

By the end, Jim felt as small and as worthless as the day his father left him. This was the latest in a long line of abandonments, but it hurt more than all the rest combined. No one else had made the promise to never leave him and then broken it so carelessly. There had to be a good reason. There must be. Would he really feel better if there was?

When Jim came back to the room, Darius was wide awake and waiting for him. ”Well? Did you get him?” Darius asked with eager anticipation.

Jim didn’t know what to say. He certainly found him. There was no 'getting' him though. Captain Hook, as Jim understood him, was no more. “Almost,” he answered, forcing a disappointed smile. “I'll have him next time.” That was all Jim said on the matter. He told Darius to go to bed. It was very late.

After Darius turned over and went to sleep, Jim shut himself in the bathroom. He got in the shower, turned the water on, and sat in the tub, wrapping his arms around his knees. He let the sound of the water muffle the sound of his sobs. He thought he was done, but the tears kept coming and coming like an endless waterfall.

He was crying out the life he thought he knew, the truths that made him who he was and guided his every movement. Once they were all cried out, Jim wasn't sure there would be anything left of him. Still, he cried until the water ran cold. He wasn't really done. He just figured, at some point, he ought to stop and go to bed. He could resume his weeping in the morning if necessary.

Jim redressed and got into bed. He clutched his pillow and imagined Killian the way he remembered him in his youth. Sweet. Tender. Innocent, mostly. Tonight, that Killian was exhumed and given a thorough autopsy. After seeing the results, Jim would have to lay him to rest again and learn to understand this new Killian. He was grieving for the living. He fell asleep cradling Killian at the bottom of his grave, blotting his eyes with rolled up toilet paper.

 

* * *

 

Jefferson parked his car outside Lakeside Manor around ten in the morning. Regina called while he was still in bed and asked him to meet her there as soon as possible. What for, Jefferson had no clue. Something about helping him with Grace.

He knocked on the door. After a few moments of nothing, he rang the doorbell. Regina opened the door and welcomed him inside.

"Jefferson, I'm so glad you were able to make it on such short notice," she said warmly. "Can I take your coat?"

"I've got it." Jefferson took off his coat and scarf and hung them on the rack. "So, why exactly did you want to see me so soon? And why here?"

"Follow me. We'll explain everything," said Regina, directing him down the hall.

Jefferson was puzzled. "Who's we?" he asked.

Regina led him through the grand atrium into the study. Inside, there was a scrawny man in a lab coat unloading lab equipment onto a table. It was hard to tell by the back of his head, but Jefferson was fairly sure they’d never met before. Must be from Ingary.

"Dr. Jekyll?" Regina chimed. Jekyll startled with a stifled yelp. "Your new patient has arrived."

Jekyll turned and saw them. He stumbled over to Jefferson and shook his hand. "You must be Mr. Carter. Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Dr. Henry Jekyll, at your service."

His palms were sweaty. Jefferson covertly wiped his hand on his pant leg. "What's going on?" asked Jefferson, already weirded out. "Are you  _the_ Dr. Jekyll?"

"I see my reputation precedes me," Jekyll said with an anxious laugh. "Unfortunately, it's not exactly a good one. Rest assured, my other half won't be troubling us here." Dr. Jekyll resumed setting up his equipment. 

Regina answered Jefferson's question before he could ask it. "Dr. Jekyll is a pioneer in brain science back in Ingary. Despite his best efforts, I know Dr. Hopper hasn't quite been able to meet your needs. Dr. Jekyll and I were having a conversation yesterday and he thinks he might have something that can help you."

"How?" asked Jefferson. "I've tried therapy. I've tried pills. What else is there?"

"Sometimes," Jekyll began, "we need to try a few different options before we find the one that fits."

Jefferson sighed. "I already have. Citalopram, lithium, clonazepam... I'm on a cocktail of chemicals you wouldn't believe."

"Well, you haven't tried mine," said Jekyll confidently. He began unboxing containers of various compounds and arranging them alphabetically on the table.

Jefferson thought this over. It didn't seem plausible. Or safe. "How do we know this will even work?" asked Jefferson.

"It worked on him," said Regina. "Hyde's gone. The Hatter can be next."

"Hyde literally split from him. Is that going to happen to me?" Jefferson wondered, imagining the Hatter running amuck about town.

Jekyll chuckled. "No, my friend. We're not doing anything as drastic as that. Though I hope that makes you more confident in my serum's efficacy. There is one minor problem, however," Jekyll said going through his supplies. "It seems I'm out of a particular compound I need for the medicine. I don't suppose there are any research facilities in Storybrooke?"

"I'm afraid we're short on scientists," Regina said, trying to think. "Well, there is one... What about your friend, Victor? Doesn't he have a lab at home?" she asked Jefferson.

"Uh... Yeah, but I don't know if he'd have what you need," answered Jefferson. He read the container that was supposed to hold the needed chemicals. "I can't even pronounce that."

Regina sighed. "I'm sorry, Jefferson. I was really hoping this would help you get custody of Grace. You've been trying so hard. I wanted to finally give you a win."

At this point, Jefferson was willing to try anything, do anything. "Will this really work?" he asked Jekyll.

"Almost certainly," Jekyll replied.

"I'll get that compound," Jefferson told them resolutely. "I'll have it here by this evening."

Jekyll stood to his feet. "There's just one issue," he said, raising his hand to get attention. "Mr. Hyde also has designs on the same compounds we need to make you your medicine. You have to be quick and discrete. Tell no one."

"Not even Victor? I can't just..." Jefferson trailed off. Victor's been spending nearly all his time at the hospital since the crash. He's been impossible to reach. Victor would understand. "Don't worry about it. Quick and discrete is my middle name." For Grace. He'd do it for Grace.

Jefferson left Regina and Jekyll and exited the mansion. He nearly forgot his coat and scarf by the door. As he seated himself in his car, he tried to remember. Where exactly did he leave his thief's tools? He turned the key in the ignition. Thirty years later, it was time for more breaking and entering.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Jim awoke with a shake. When his eyes adjusted to the light, Jim saw Darius standing over him. "Dar? What is it?" Jim asked, his voice a little slurred and drowsy.

"The sheriff's office called," Darius told him. "There's a meeting at City Hall at noon."

Of course. The meeting. Jim would have been dreading it were it not for Killian preoccupying him. He had to face Regina, hoping that Emma and her family could save him from her wrath. Killian was going to be there too today. Hell was truly empty and all the devils were there. Jim just wanted to keep on sleeping, prolonging the inevitable. He turned back over and shut his eyes, only to earn himself another prod from Darius.

"What?" Jim groaned. "Just give me a few more minutes."

"It's eleven fifteen," said Darius. "We gotta go."

Jim had been asleep a lot longer than he thought. He begrudgingly pulled himself out of bed. He needed coffee desperately. No need to worry about eating first. His stomach was already sick as it is. Jim went in the bathroom, changed, brushed his hair, and left. Darius chased him down the stairs.

"Hey, wait for me!" Darius called after him.

"You're staying here," Jim informed him. He could tell Darius was going to cry foul. "I don't have time for this, so here's the rundown. We're confronting the mayor for attempting to murder Snow and David. She threatened to kill me for getting involved and I don't want her threatening you too. You're staying put. You got that?"

Darius was silent. He began walking back upstairs slowly, hanging his head to look extra sad.

"Remember Mr. Gold?" Jim asked, trying to help Darius understand. "Remember how scary he was? Well, this lady shoots fire from her hands. And we're about to go make her very angry. So, please, be glad I'm not endangering your life by taking you with me."

"All right. I get it," said Darius, still a bit put-out.

Jim decided that would have to do. "Good. I'm not sure when I'll be back. If I'm not back in a few hours, I'm probably dead." Jim hurried down the stairs into the restaurant, grabbed a quick cup of coffee, and hurried to City Hall.

When he reached the building, he saw Emma's car and David's truck parked outside. He was somewhat relieved to see their vehicles in the parking lot. If things went south, he'd need some magic in his corner. He expected to see them out front, or even in the lobby, but the woman at the front desk directed Jim up the stairs to Regina's office. With trepidation, Jim climbed the stairs. He was grateful to have brought a gun along, as well as a few of his less-favorite knives, but he didn't think they'd do much good against a witch of Regina's caliber.

At her door, Jim could hear voices. He listened in. The tone was pleasant enough. Definitely not happy, but war wasn't about to break out. Summoning his courage, Jim turned the knob and entered the room.

Emma, Snow, David, Regina, and Hook all turned to look at him. David and Snow smiled. Killian gave him a tense, inconspicuous wave. Regina just looked confused by his presence.

"What's he doing here?" Regina asked. She didn't seem to like Jim much, but it was as if their conversation in the woods never happened.

"Hey, Philip," Emma greeted. "Come on in."

Jim waved to the group. "Hey, everybody." He nervously smiled and shut the door. "Sorry, I'm late."

"We started without you," Regina informed him. "Apparently, I've been up to no good again."

Jim steeled himself. There weren't any fireballs yet. He approached Regina's desk with a straight back and squared shoulders.

"Philip, could you tell us what you told me back at the hospital?" Emma asked.

Jim looked back to Regina. Either she was an excellent actress or she had no idea what Emma was talking about. He had to be careful with his words. Using the most neutral, non-accusatory language possible, Jim recounted to the group his encounter with Regina in the woods. She confessed in no uncertain terms to multiple counts of attempted murder and threatened Jim's life before disappearing.

"And what was she wearing?" Emma asked him.

Why was that important? Jim looked straight at Regina. She wasn't angry, just perplexed. What was going on? "You were wearing a ball gown, lots of ornate jewelry. You had your hair done up like..." Jim gestured to almost suggest a second head sitting atop his. "It was a good look for you," he added.

Regina looked down away from all their eyes. She massaged her temples and took a few deep breaths. She didn't move or speak for what felt like ages.

"Regina?" said Snow finally.

She looked back up, tossing her hair back and straightening her spine. "None of you, Snow and Emma excluded, were supposed to know about this. I thought this was going to be an open and shut thing. But, once again, I guess my dirty laundry is getting a public exhibition. That wasn't me in the woods that day. Well, it was in a way. I should explain."

"Please," David begged, just as confused as Killian and Jim.

"When you rescued Dr. Jekyll from Hyde in Ingary, Snow managed to score the last of his serum - the serum he used to separate himself from Hyde," Regina explained. Jim was very glad he read Jekyll's book. Otherwise he'd be lost.

"Ever since Robin died,” she continued, “I had been feeling all that darkness I've been learning to control bubble back up to the surface. I didn't want to risk becoming the Evil Queen again. Snow gave me the serum. Emma gave me the injection. After a minute or so of agony, the Queen and I split in two. Then I tore out her heart and turned her dust. Or so I thought."

"You helped her do this?" David said to his wife, bewildered.

Emma interjected. "We thought we were helping her, Dad."

"We had no idea she could come back," said Snow, wracked with guilt.

"Did you know?" asked David, whipping around angrily.

"Me?" asked Jim, pointing to himself.

David shook his head. He pointed past Jim to a mousy, bespectacled man standing in the corner. Jim didn't even see him when he walked in. There was something about his face that looked vaguely familiar, but Jim couldn't place it.

"Jekyll," David called out to him. "Were you aware that this could happen when you gave Regina the serum?"

So this was Dr. Jekyll. That's what looked familiar. His eyes. He had Hyde's eyes. They were slightly sunken and they looked like they were hiding something. If Jekyll was here with them, where had Hyde disappeared to?

Jekyll's voice cracked when he spoke. He adjusted his glasses. "The formula underwent a series of tests before Hyde used it to separate us, but I'm afraid attempting to kill the separated test subjects wasn't one of them."

"So, we're dealing with the Queen again," muttered David. "That's just great. How long did it take her to send Thomas after us? A day? Two? Then the sirens two days later!"

"Not to mention sending Ariel after Ella and Eric," Snow added. "Why would she even do that? Poor Ariel."

"Why indeed?" said Regina. For a second, it seemed like Regina had learned how to throw her voice. The question came from behind Jim.

Everyone else turned to look and their eyes grew to the size of saucers. Jim turned to see as well. There was Regina - Queen Regina - standing right behind him. She was once again immaculately dressed and coiffed, with an uncomfortable amount of decolletage. Jim instinctively reached for his gun, but with a wave of her hand, the Queen reduced it to sand.

"Relax, _Philip_ ," the Queen said. "I've decided not to kill you after all. Now move aside before I change my mind."

Jim shook the sand off his hand. That had been Billy Bones’ pistol. He hadn't known him long, but that gun had sentimental value. Jim shot his first pirate with it and saved the life of someone he loved. Of course, Jim was too scared shitless of the Queen to dwell on it long.

"You," Regina sneered at herself. She rose out of her desk in an attack stance. "I destroyed you."

"Did you really think I'd be that easy to get rid of?" the Queen replied. "We can't possibly be that stupid, can we? Shows what happens when you start spending all your time with the Charmings."

David got between them. "Come to try and kill us again?" he asked defiantly.

The Queen mockingly scrunched up her face at him. "No," she told him. "I've recently come into some knowledge that would make it unwise for me to end your pathetic little lives, at least for the time being. The mermaid? She had a story that hadn't been told, but fate demanded it be done. There are quite a few untold stories in this town, sordid pasts or grim futures. They're going to start playing themselves out. And I won't have to lift a finger while I watch you tear yourselves apart."

She had the most twisted grin on her face. She sent Jim and Killian a clear look went she referred to "sordid pasts". The two of them locked eyes. Whatever she meant, it wasn't good.

"I do need one thing though," the Queen declared. Pointing to Dr. Jekyll, she said, "Him." She magically pulled the doctor by his collar until it was firmly grasped in her hand. "You're not as cute as the other one." She conjured a fireball to keep anyone from making any rash decisions.

Emma fired up her magic and prepared to attack the Queen. The Queen aimed the fireball threateningly at Killian's chest, using Jekyll as a human shield. Jim instinctively moved in front of Killian, catching the Queen off-guard.

"Huh," she said bemusedly. "Guess you got the answer to your question. Now, the Doctor and I are going to take a little walk. Any rescue missions will result in his death. Would that work in reverse? If not, I'll settle for dismemberment."

"Let him go!" Regina commanded her darker self. She tried to summon magic but her power fizzled out in her hands.

"Or what?" asked the Queen haughtily. "You'll shoot some sparks at me? Turn me to dust for five minutes? You're nothing without me. I am done letting you get in my way. If it wasn't for you, Robin would be alive and these imbeciles would be worm food. The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen."

Regina fell back into her chair, slain by the Queen's words. The Queen waved goodbye to them all with a sickly smile. With her hand gripped claw-like by Jekyll's throat, the Queen vanished them both away in a cloud of smoke. The threat gone, Jim tried to nonchalantly move away from Killian. Everyone in the office was rendered silent for nearly a full minute.

"What did she mean?" asked Snow, breaking the silence. "Untold stories?"

Jim stepped forward. "I might know," he said. "Ingary is sometimes called the Land of Untold Stories. We get a lot of people from other lands, immigrants and refugees, trying to start a new life for themselves. The name's supposed to refer to the untold potential of the future, new beginnings or whatever. Whatever the Queen is getting at, it must have come from there. And if Jekyll's involved..."

"Then Hyde is too," finished Emma. "This was always his plan. Now the Queen is in on it."

"She said he was cute," Regina said, disgusted. "Ugh. What could he have that she wants?"

David began to pace. Snow and Emma moved closer to Regina to provide support. Jim sat down, his contribution made. Killian moved across the room from him. Jim couldn't help feeling like he had embarrassed him, shielding him like that. Jim wasn't sure what had gotten into him. It must just be a habit, protecting him.

"I think we should maybe take five," Emma suggested, still reeling. "Then maybe we can reconvene and start thinking up a plan. Is anybody else hungry?"

They all regrouped at Granny's. Jim rode there with Snow and David. One anxious look from Killian told him that hitching a ride with him and Emma was out of the question. At the diner, they found a nice big booth in the corner. Regina sat in the middle. She couldn't bring herself to make eye contact with anyone. Jim knew that look. He could practically read her thoughts. "This is all my fault," repeated over and over in her brain.

Jim went upstairs and brought Darius down with him. He did his best to sum up the situation. Darius was just happy to be part of the mission again. When Granny and Ruby showed up to get orders, they were dumbstruck by the day's turn of events. Granny switched the front sign to 'closed'.

They all ordered fairly quickly. Everyone had their usuals. Jim ordered a plain chicken sandwich. He wasn't feeling up to much food. He kept making eye contact with Killian, who was restlessly drumming his fingers on the table. Was it the Queen or was it Jim making him so antsy?

After getting their food, no one was doing much in the vein of making a plan. Jim, only picking at his meal, was beginning to be deafened by the silence. "So, we're all here," said Jim. "What are we waiting for?"

"We're waiting for the flight roster from the _Albatross_ ," said Regina, stabbing at her salad. She was clearly annoyed that Jim was trying to weigh in on the proceedings. "I called Henry right before I left the office. He'll be here shortly."

Jim's blood ran cold. By the petrified look on his face, so did Killian's. Jim shot him a look. "He better keep his mouth shut," was what Jim tried to convey. Killian couldn't make any promises.

Within minutes, the bell rang. In walked Henry, followed by a girl Jim didn't recognize. Henry was carrying a slip of paper, presumably the flight roster. Things had only gotten worse for Jim. He realized that is name, or rather Philip Cassell's name, wasn't going to be on that list. Neither was Darius's or Nadir's. That was something unfortunate to presumably share with Hyde.

"Shit," Jim thought. Darius tapped Jim on the shoulder, thinking the exact same thing. Jim turned to him and whispered, "Lie your ass off." It was the only way out.

Henry saw Jim eating lunch with his family and took pause. Jim bit into his sandwich and avoided Henry's eyes. He didn't know what else to do. It was time to face the music and hopefully weasel his way out.

"I've got the flight roster," Henry told them, holding up the document.

Regina smiled. "Thank you so much, honey. Let's see it." She reached out for the paper, but Henry withheld it.

"Before we do, there's something you guys should know," said Henry, looking at Jim. Here it comes. "It's about Philip." There it was. Henry set the roster onto the table. Jim was on the end of the seat. He could have run if he wanted, but it wouldn't do any good. He and Darius were caught unless they could come up with another story fast.

"Philip isn't on the roster. Neither is Darius," said Henry. Everyone turned to look at Jim, who did his best to look mildly surprised.

"Well, that's weird," Jim said casually. "We paid for our ticket. Economy class. It was sort of a last minute booking. Maybe-"

Henry didn't stop at the roster. "There's more. Last night, I went to _The Jolly Roger_ to help Hook clean up. Philip had him tied to a chair. He had knocked him out with a tranquilizer gun." Killian hid his face. "Look, I know it's old pirate stuff and you didn't want me telling people, but how can we trust this guy? He's gotta be working with Hyde! They're the only ones not on the list."

Emma turned to Hook. "Is that true about last night?" she asked, slightly angry and slightly wounded.

"Aye," Hook confessed. "We had some unfinished business from my pirating days. I was working toward a peaceful resolution, then Henry knocked him out."

Jim word-vomited all over the table. "And, may I just say, great shot. Can I have my knife back?" All Henry did was glare at him. Humor wasn't helping at all.

"I'm sorry," said Regina. "You tied Hook to a chair?"

Jim was so screwed. There was no lie he could tell to save his skin. Only the truth, slightly altered to suit his needs, would set him free.

"You wanna know why I'm not on that list?" Darius pretended to clear his throat. Jim ignored him. "Darius, it's fine. We didn't come here on the _Albatross_. We got here a few days ago via submarine. I'm not a detective. I'm a pirate hunter. And there's been a six-figure bounty on that man's head for the better part of a century. My name's not even Philip Cassell. It's Jim Hawkins."

"Like _Treasure Planet_ Jim Hawkins?" Henry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What's _Treasure Planet_?" Jim said in unison with Henry's girlfriend. "If you mean _Treasure Island_ , yeah, that's me."

Henry turned to Hook. "You said he was a pirate."

"We crossed paths a long time ago," Jim interjected. He didn't want to pretend to be a pirate, but when did he ever get what he wanted? "I've had a change of vocation since then." That answer seemed to satisfy them.

"And him?" Emma said, looking at Darius. "What about this one?"

"Darius is my assistant. That is his real name and, no, we're not cousins," Jim told the group. "I know the resemblance is uncanny. So, if you're worried that I'm working with Hyde or something, I'm not. I'm not even collecting the bounty on Kill- I mean, on Hook."

Emma wasn't convinced. "Why not? Why else are you here?"

Jim took another deep breath. It gave him a brief second to think. "As he was going to elaborate on before I got shot with a dart, I didn't know Captain Hook changed his ways and settled down to start a family. I don't need money that bad. At least, not in Ingary. Here, I'm flat broke." Jim turned to Henry. "Seriously, kid, while we're on the subject of last night, can I please have my knife back? It was a birthday present." Jim looked at Killian. "From my... ex." That word burned as it left his mouth.

Henry thought it over. "Not likely," he answered. "I still don't think we should trust you."

Jim heard Emma whisper to Killian, "We're talking about this later." Jim could almost mark the exact second the light left Killian's eyes. He did not want to be him. Then again, he had his own troubles.

"You came here in a submarine?" asked Snow.

"Yeah, same day I met you and David," Jim confirmed. "It's parked on the other side of the woods."

"Hold on a minute," said Regina. "Henry's right. You pretend you're a crash survivor using a fake name, meddle in our business, and then drug and hogtie Hook? And we're just supposed to pretend that's not an issue? How do we know you're not working for Hyde?"

Jim huffed. "Need I remind you, I helped you catch the Invisible Man, who we know was Hyde's agent. I was the one who told you about the Queen. And it was my big mouth that made you ask for that incriminating flight roster. I don't work for Hyde, never have!" Jim rested his case.

Snow spoke up again. "If you only came here for Hook and not to help Hyde, what do you care about anything else that's been going on here?" she asked. "Why investigate Thomas? Why tell us about the Queen?"

She really pinned Jim to the wall with that one. It was time for the real truth. With his own mission in shambles, Jim was going to have to throw Nadir's plan at least partially under the bus. Spoiling it was the only way to salvage it. He had no alternative.

"Darius, please forgive me for this," Jim said remorsefully. Darius grit his teeth, like someone was about to tear off a bandage. "You wanna know? I'll tell you. Darius and I weren't the only people onboard that sub. There's someone else."

"Jim!" Darius exclaimed.

"We painted ourselves into a corner here, Dar. We're no use to Nadir if they don't trust us," Jim told him.

"Nadir? Who's Nadir?" Emma asked.

Jim cleared his throat. He took a sip of water to wet his lips. This was going to require a lot of explanation. "I came here to find Hook," Jim restated, "but I only got here by promising to help a friend find somebody else, someone who  _was_ on the _Albatross_. Darius isn't _my_ assistant. He's a detective on the payroll of a man named Nadir Khan. I'm basically his babysitter while we help him track down-"

"Don't say his name!" Darius hissed. He was probably also mad that Jim suggested he needed a babysitter. "He could be anywhere."

"An associate of Hyde's," Jim said more vaguely. "Nadir's been living on the outskirts of town, also searching for him. If you come to the park with me, I can introduce you."

"This sounds like a trap to me," said Regina. "We don't even get to know who you're supposedly here to find?"

"You're very wise to think that," replied Jim. "Darius write down the name and pass it to Regina." Darius did so. He wrote Svengali's name on a napkin and passed it around the table.

Regina raised it up, trying to read Darius's chicken scratches. "I have no idea who this is," she said.

"And we barely have an idea who he is either. Nadir's weird like that," replied Jim. He raised his hands, touching his wrists together. "Now, if you don't trust me, take my weapons and cuff me. Nadir's not coming to us."

Regina gave the order. David began searching Jim for weapons. He had quite a few on his person. Guns and knives piled up on the table. Snow and Regina were disturbed at just how armed-to-the-teeth Jim was. Emma put his hands behind his back and cuffed him.

"I'm going to want all those back when we're done," Jim told them. David held him while Emma kneeled down to check Darius for any weaponry. "Darius isn't armed. But he does need to come with us. Nadir will listen to him. He's just a kid. Don't put him in handcuffs."

"I wasn't planning on it," said Emma, standing back up. "Now let's go meet your friend. For your sake, you better be telling the truth." To David, she said, "We'll take Jim. You take the kid."

Emma walked Jim out to her car and had him sit in the backseat. Jim guessed he wouldn't be buckling his seat belt this time. Emma sat down in the driver's seat and adjusted her mirror. Jim looked through the window at Killian, who was hesitant to get into a moving vehicle with the both of them.

Eventually, Killian swallowed his fear and sat down in the passenger seat. Emma fired up the engine and off they were to the park. Jim looked back at Darius. David was helping him into the back seat of his truck with Snow. Whatever happened, Jim was sure Darius would be just fine.

"So," Emma said tersely. "You forgot to tell me something, I hear." She was talking to Killian. "You asked my son not to tell me when he saved you from this asshole. Why exactly?"

Killian looked back at Jim. He was shit out of luck. Jim had no answers for him.

"You've just had a lot on your mind lately with the business with Hyde and your powers acting up. I didn't want to give you more to worry about," Killian said to her. "I was going to tell you once all the dust settled, honest. I had things under control."

"Under control? He shot you with a tranquilizer and tied you to a chair! _Henry_ had to come save you! How is that under control?" Emma asked incredulously.

Jim figured now would be a good time to jump in. "In fairness to him, I was about to let him go when your son shot me. So there's that."

Emma just stared daggers at Jim, who sunk back into his seat. "Is there more going on here that I should know about?" she asked them both.

Jim and Killian froze. "What do you mean?" asked Jim, praying to God she didn't figure things out.

"People never show up in Storybrooke without a history," Emma told him. "What kind of person goes to the effort of traveling between worlds just for a bounty? That's a lot of magic just for some cash."

"Were you listening when I said the reward was six figures? _In gold_?" Jim was lying of course, but it sounded impressive. "This is Captain Hook we're talking about. If you're a pirate hunter, he's like the Holy Grail." Killian seemed somewhat proud of that.

Emma wasn't so impressed. "And you gave that up for what?" she asked, still unconvinced. "Some sob story Hook told you?"

Jim looked away. Killian still hadn't told him the full story. "You seem like a happy family. I don't want to destroy that. I'm not a monster," said Jim, downcast.

"You said you had unfinished business. Sounds like history to me," Emma remarked.

It was Killian's turn to make something up. "I may or may not have raided his ship and left him marooned on an island," Killian lied. "I'm not exactly proud of it, but it's not the worst thing I've ever done."

Jim ran with Killian's story. "When I heard about the bounty, I jumped on it," Jim said. "Get revenge  _and_ get richer than Midas? Sounded like a sweet deal."

"And you still were going to give up on that?" Emma asked him. "Why?"

Jim could feel Emma's eyes bore into him through the rear view mirror. She was trying to read him. Jim needed to throw her off. "I grew up without a father. I didn't want that to happen to Henry too." Jim worried that might be laying it on a bit thick, but Emma's expression softened.

"Hook's not Henry's father," Emma rebutted, refocusing on the road.

"I know, but he's the closest thing he's got, right?" Jim asked, trying his best to tear up a bit.

Emma was silent for a minute or so. "Okay," she said finally. "I believe you. Thanks for not trading in my boyfriend for a sack of gold."

"You're welcome," Jim replied awkwardly. What else was there to say?

"I still don't know about this friend of yours in the woods though," Emma told him. "If this is a trap..."

Jim rolled his eyes. "I could have let the sirens kill you. I could have let the Invisible Man kill you. I could have not told you about the Evil Queen and let her kill you," Jim reminded her. "I like you people. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I believe him," said Killian. It wasn't much, but in that moment, it meant the world.

They reached the park. Killian helped Jim out of the car. He leaned in close and whispered, "Thank you." He placed his hand on Jim's shoulder. It was meant to appear authoritative, but the light squeeze Killian gave him was borderline affectionate.

Getting into messes like this reminded Jim of their old days, but now wasn't the time for getting misty. "You owe me one," Jim whispered back.

Emma, Killian, and Jim joined Snow, David, and Darius. Regina pulled up in her car moments later. With Jim in the lead, they all trudged through the trees. Killian kept a firm grip on him. It should have been intimidating, but to Jim it was reassuring. If anyone was going to manhandle him through the forest, he'd take Killian any day. After a short walk, they arrived at the site of the ruined _Albatross_.

"Why are we here?" asked Regina, reexamining the wreckage. "And what happened to all the debris?"

"Nadir picked it up. He's neurotic like that," Jim told her. Jim shook off Killian's grip and moved into the center of the clearing. "Nadir! Nadir! The jig's up! Look, I know you're gonna kill me, but you need to come out and explain things. They're on our side! Nadir?" Jim turned back to the others. "He might be inside the dirigible. That's where he's been sleeping."

"Why's he been sleeping out here?" asked Emma.

"Because he's paranoid," Jim said. "He thinks if you-know-who sees his face in town, he'll disappear and we'll never find him." Darius nodded in agreement. Jim banged on the door to the _Albatross_ 's cabin. "Nadir! Open up!" The door creaked open. "Nadir?"

Jim poked his head through the door. There was a faint noise coming from inside. Emma and Killian were close behind Jim as he slowly walked into the wreck. "Nadir? It's me. It's Jim. You can come out. I promise it's safe."

Emma gasped, drawing Jim's attention. Nadir was on the floor, semi-consciously moaning in pain. "Oh my god, Nadir!" Jim shouted, rushing to his side. Jim shuffled off his handcuffs. "For the record," he said to Emma, "I could have done that any time and I chose not to."

Jim looked down at his friend. He checked his pulse. Still alive. Jim began searching for the source of the blood that had pooled around him.

"What's wrong with him?" said Emma. She turned over Nadir's arm. Nothing.

"I don't know!" Jim shouted back at her. He kept frantically looking for the wound. Then he saw the blood dripping down Nadir's neck. Peering closer, Jim saw two tiny holes piercing his flesh. "We need to get him to the hospital. Someone attacked him." Jim looked again. There were similar markings on Nadir's shoulder and wrist.

Darius cut through them and froze when he saw his employer bloodied and barely alive. He crouched down and started examining Nadir himself with his detective's tools. Like Jim, he checked for a pulse. Darius breathed a sigh of relief. When he got to Nadir's neck, he took out his magnifying glass and looked closely at the marks. Darius scuttled away from his body in terror. He looked at the three adults surrounding him. " _Vampir,_ " he said softly.

"What'd you say, Dar?" Jim asked, leaning in closer to hear him.

Darius stood to his feet and threw his arms around Jim. "Vampir!" Darius repeated in fright. Jim could hear him start to sob against him. He hugged the poor kid while Killian ran out to get the others.

Soon, David and Hook were carrying Nadir out of the forest. They laid him gently on the sidewalk. Snow called for an ambulance to come get him. They all waited in the park until the sirens came roaring down the street. Jim looked for a flower to give to Darius. Maybe that would cheer him up. Unlikely. Nadir looked ready to die. Darius identified bloodstains. He could identify a man at death's door. All the flowers in the world couldn't fix this situation.

They watched the paramedics load Nadir into the ambulance. "What happened to him?" Snow asked, doing her best to comfort Darius.

"It was the _vampir_!" Darius repeated.

Snow sounded out the word. "Vampire?" she exclaimed. Darius nodded, inconsolable. Snow looked off into the middle-distance. It couldn't be.

Emma and Hook hopped into the yellow Volkswagen. Snow and David climbed into his truck. Jim and Darius waited to be told who to ride with.

Regina approached him. "Why don't you two ride with me? I think we ought to talk," she said. Jim didn't sense that he had much of a choice.

Regina pulled up with her car. Jim sat shotgun and Darius climbed in the back. As they drove away toward the hospital, Regina asked them, "Does anyone want to fill me in on exactly why we're taking this man to the ER?"

Jim didn't want to upset Darius more. Though after seeing what he saw, Jim didn't think recounting the event could make it that much worse. "There was blood everywhere. New blood, I mean. He had what looked like bite marks on his neck and shoulder and his wrist. Darius... Darius thinks it might have been a vampire."

"Kids and their imaginations," Regina said callously. "I'm sorry. That was rude. I'm sure it wasn't vampires, Darius."

"I don't know," Jim replied. "He did a pretty thorough examination. He's good at that sort of thing. Besides, one of the books that Thomas stole from the library was _Dracula_. You know that one?"

Regina pursed her lips. "I know of it, yes."

Jim grit his teeth, trying to be delicate. "I think we might have bigger problems than Hyde and the Queen," Jim said, careful not to upset her. He abandoned this and bluntly said, "Count Dracula is in Storybrooke."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not like the Evil Queen getting briefly paired with Rumple. Gross. It should have been Hyde. Don't worry. It's not gonna be a major plot arc.


	8. Once Bitten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nadir recovers from the vampire attack in the hospital. Meanwhile, Hook finally tells Jim the truth about his disappearance.

_"Now tell me why I wasted half my life and passed up all my chances. I thought I could protect you. You let me try. How selfish and how cruel to cast me as your fool. Now tell me why."_ \- "Tell Me Why", _A Man of No Importance_

* * *

They waited for hours at the hospital for any word on Nadir's condition. If Nadir had truly been attacked by vampires, that would be an issue that concerned them all. The hospital was still overrun with those injured in the airship crash, which made everything take so much longer. All of them – Jim and Darius, Regina, Emma and Killian, Snow and David – sat in the waiting room in inconsistent silence, hoping for good news.

“And you’re sure?” Regina asked Jim, both their eyes fixated on the door to the Emergency Room.

Jim looked at Darius seated beside him, wishing he could say no. Darius already knew. He certainly knew better than Jim did. “Positive.”

Dr. Frankenstein finally emerged to inform them that Nadir was badly in need of a blood transfusion. He had lost an obscene amount in the attack. “Obviously,” Jim muttered under his breath. The other doctors determined Nadir’s blood type and began the transfusion process. If Frankenstein was to be believed, the whole ordeal would take up to four hours.

“Good god,” Jim lamented. He turned back to the others. People who had once looked at him with suspicion were now looking at him with concern.

“We’ll call you when the procedure’s been finished,” said Frankenstein.

“I don’t have a phone,” Jim replied, overcome by helplessness.

Emma stepped forward. “I do,” she told him. Jim was already quite aware. “You got my number, Doc? Call me when it’s done.”

Frankenstein gave her a nod and returned to the ER. Jim had a hard time looking Emma in the eye. “Thank you,” he choked out.

“No problem,” Emma answered. “Why don’t we all grab a snack or something, seeing as we’re gonna be waiting a while?”

For the second time in a week, Jim and Darius walked with them to the hospital cafeteria. For the second time, David offered to buy Darius some ice cream, but the poor kid was too distraught to eat. This time, Regina joined them. Snow needed to go home. Neal’s babysitter was once again working overtime.

Killian also decided to bail. Jim wasn’t sure why. He certainly wasn’t obligated to stay. Jim and Killian locked eyes while he gave Emma a quick peck on the cheek. They said something quietly to each other. Jim tried not to eavesdrop, but it was tempting. After Killian waved them a quick goodbye, Emma sat down at the table with the rest of them.

“Sorry, what did I miss?” she asked, pulling up a chair.

“We were just discussing Nadir,” Regina told her. “Since we don’t know for certain about this whole vampire deal, we’ve decided to stick to the facts that we know. Now, Jim, we are all genuinely sorry about what happened to your friend. So, let's say that for now we believe you. You came here on some sort of mutually assisted bounty-hunting expedition. We still need to know the details."

Jim and Darius braced themselves for the coming conversation. He wished Nadir could be there to make an account for himself. "Nadir's not a bounty hunter," Jim corrected. "He didn't come here to find _you-know-who_ for money.”

“Then why make the trip?” David asked. “Traveling between worlds is next to impossible. He must have gone to a lot of trouble to get here.”

Why indeed. “Nadir and Sven- _you know_ have some kind of personal history between them. Nadir's been chasing him from realm to realm with Darius, trying to track him down. I don't know all the details."

"Why though?" Emma asked. "What's the beef between them?" She glanced from Jim to Darius, hoping the kid might have better answers.

Jim wasn’t going to make Darius answer any questions. "I don't know what he personally did to Nadir. Neither does Darius," Jim said firmly, looking at Darius sulking in his seat. "All we know is that this guy has done some pretty awful shit. Nadir didn't get too explicit, but we're looking at multiple counts of murder, kidnapping, extortion. 'The usual stuff' as Nadir put it. According to him, the man's a danger to himself and others. He also said that the guy's uglier than sin, so there’s that."

Emma puzzled over that. "That's good to know, especially if he and Hyde are working together. So why get involved with everything else?" she asked. "Thomas? The Queen?"

"We thought they'd make good leads," was Jim's simple answer. "We correctly guessed that the Invisible Man was working for Hyde. And we knew for a fact that Hyde and Nadir’s guy were working together. It made sense to follow where that trail went. As for the sirens, I couldn't very well bring Hook in if he was dead. Plus, I didn't want you all drowning along with him. When I'm not hunting down pirates for a living, I'm actually a pretty decent guy. Same reason we warned you about the Queen. That, and it might produce a lead if she was really mucking around with Hyde's plans. Gotta say though, when she was waving that fireball in my face, the whole thing seemed a lot less worth it."

Regina turned away from them. "I can imagine," she said, embarrassed. "I'm sorry you had to... have an audience with the Queen." That was one way to put it.

"That used to be you?" Jim asked her, regretting mentioning it at all.

Regina looked back to him. "Not anymore," she said with conviction. Jim understood. He wasn’t always fond of the person he’d been in the past. Hell, he wasn’t too keen on the person he was in the present. If Jim had been in Regina’s shoes, he might have tried to kill his old self too. He could appreciate the symbolism at least. “So that’s really all you know?”

“Sorry,” Jim told them. “If you want to know more, you’ll have to ask Nadir when he’s… when they’re done with him.”

Satisfied enough with Jim’s answers, they all got up and walked back to the waiting room. On the way, Emma caught Jim’s attention and led him away from the group.

"Hey, Jim. Can we talk?" Emma asked in a hushed voice, gesturing for Jim to follow. "I've got another question for you."

Jim shrugged. “All right, shoot,” he said, lowering his tone. This was getting exhausting.

Emma cast a steely gaze upon Jim. "How did you know where to find Hook?" she asked. "He could have been anywhere. How did you know he was in Storybrooke?"

For once, Jim didn't have to make up much of a story. "He was spotted in Ingary a few weeks ago. The local pirate hunters' guild quadrupled the bounty that had been sitting on his head for the past hundred years. I did some digging and found out where he went. Simple as that."

Emma looked off and thought about Jim's explanation. It seemed to track well enough with her. 

"I've got a question,” Jim told her before she could say anything else. ”What was he doing in Ingary in the first place?" Jim honestly wanted to know.

"We had some problems with a portal,” Emma answered. “Magic in Storybrooke had briefly gone haywire while we were trying to get some people home to Camelot. Hook and my parents wound up in Ingary and got captured by Hyde. Oh, and Zelena was there too, I guess."

Jim perked up. "Camelot?" he asked, intrigued. “Like King Arthur and shit?”

Emma rubbed her head. "It is a _long_ story. Long story short, King Arthur’s a dick. I really don't want to get into it right now."

"Was this before or after you all went to the Underworld?" Jim inquired. "And why...?"

Emma put up a silencing finger. "I really do not want to get into that one," Emma told him. Whatever the details were, they seemed very personal. It wasn’t his business, but Jim desperately wanted to know more.

Jim took a bit of smug satisfaction pushing back at Emma with questions of his own. "Sounds like your family takes interesting vacations," he remarked, before returning to wait outside the Emergency Room.

After four unbearable hours, the transfusion process was complete. Dr. Frankenstein returned from the ER to give them the news. Nadir, it seemed, was going to be all right.

Still, even as Nadir was being wheeled to the Recovery Room, he wasn't permitted to have any visitors. "Why not?" Jim demanded, losing his grip on his patience. "He's my friend. You have to let me see him!" The others looked on awkwardly as Jim hounded the Doctor for answers.

Frankenstein tucked away his glasses and sighed. "Actually, I don't," he stated bluntly. "The kid here was right. The marks on Mr. Khan's skin are indeed vampire bites. Since vampirism is passed through the blood, we're going to move him into quarantine in case he turns. If a week passes and he's still human, he'll be free to go."

"And where did you become such a vampire expert?" asked Jim sarcastically, arms akimbo. "Was that an elective in medical school?"

The Doctor was not amused. "Styria, my homeland, is famous for its monsters, Mr. Cassell," said Frankenstein sternly. "Live there long enough, you learn a thing or two."

Jim huffed, not impressed. "It's Hawkins, actually. Jim Hawkins."

"Well, Mr. Hawkins, although I am truly sorry about your friend, for everyone's health and safety, Mr. Khan needs to stay in quarantine until we’re sure about his condition," Dr. Frankenstein said without a lot of sympathy. "I've just sent an intern to pick up cloves of garlic and some wooden stakes from the hardware store."

Darius cringed. By the distressed sound he made, Jim thought he might be sick or start to cry. "Don’t upset the kid!" Jim's eyes flashed, darting from Darius to Frankenstein.

“That’s not very funny, _Doctor_ ,” Jim said, trying to convince Darius that Dr. Frankenstein must be kidding.

The Doctor didn’t get the hint. “I wasn’t joking,” he replied, completely flat. Darius wandered off and sat down in the corner, burying his face in his hands. David sat down beside him and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Now look what you did!” Jim hissed at Frankenstein, pointing over to Darius who had begun sobbing in earnest. “And what exactly are you going to do with a bunch of wooden stakes and garlic?" Jim asked, fearing the worst.

Frankenstein picked up his clipboard and turned to leave. "Whatever we have to," he calmly replied. "Now, I have other patients to see. You're welcome to hang around until visiting hours are over, but you won't be allowed to see Nadir today."

Jim looked between the weeping Darius and the retreating Doctor. He quickly chased Dr. Frankenstein down the hallway, nearly bumping into a nurse. Jim grabbed the Doctor’s arm. "Hey, what about this being a place for healing?" he said, echoing Frankenstein’s words in the psych ward.

"For the living," Frankenstein appended stiffly. "I've learned the hard way that there's no use trying to heal the dead, especially the undead." With that, the Doctor shook off Jim’s grip and took his leave.

Jim recalled Frankenstein’s book and what he said about monsters. According to Shelley, he was indeed the expert. Jim couldn't imagine what would happen if Nadir became one of the undead. According to Stoker, it wouldn’t be pretty.

And what about Darius? Jim promised to watch him, but he couldn't take care of a kid long-term. How would he get him home to his mother? Maybe Captain Nemo would take pity on them. With Nadir dead and Hook alive, maybe they could still get a return ride to Ingary.

He walked over to the window into the Recovery Room. He could barely make out Nadir's face through the blinds and bandages. He tried the door handle. Locked. Jim looked back down the hall at Darius, who was drying his eyes.

"You better not turn," Jim told Nadir gravely. "If you do, I will kill you myself." Jim returned to Darius. David gave up his seat for him. Neither of them said anything. They didn’t need to.

“So. Vampires, huh?” said Regina, finally embracing the new level of bullshit that had been layered upon their reality.

“Yeah. Vampires,” Jim confirmed. "Not just any vampires. _Dracula._ The mother of all vampires."

Regina started to chuckle out of sheer exasperation. It was eerie. She sounded just like the Queen. “Wow, when it rains, it really goddamn pours. What the hell are we supposed to do now?”

“You’ve got me,” said David. “Until today, I didn’t even know vampires were real.”

Emma was the most surprised out of all of them. “Dad, your wife’s best friend is a werewolf.”

“A werewolf I’ve met,” David retorted. “But seriously, does anyone in this town know anything about these monsters? They’re not from the Enchanted Forest.”

All four of them thought for a moment while Darius twiddled his thumbs in the corner. Regina snapped her fingers. She had a eureka moment. “If there’s one person in town who knows about dark magic from other worlds…”

“It’s Mr. Gold,” Jim finished. They looked at him in astonishment. “Right? I paid him a visit when I was scoping out the town. He was very informative. I’ll go to his shop tomorrow and see what I can find out.” Jim heard Darius whine. “You don’t have to come, Dar. I can do it myself.”

After all, Jim had been meaning to speak with Mr. Gold ever since his surprise encounter with Killian on the Jolly Roger. It took a while, but Jim pieced together that Gold definitely knew the truth when Jim went to meet Hook. He deserved a piece of Jim’s mind.

* * *

"You idiots!" Hyde bellowed, pounding his desk. "Do you have any idea what you've done?" He furiously paced about the parlor as the Queen and the two vampire women looked on.

Verona stormed forward indignantly. "You had us fly a third of the way down this abysmal country and back in one night! We were starving and exhausted! Do forgive us for taking a moment to replenish ourselves." Marishka stood beside her, completely unapologetic.

"You nearly killed a man, you took so much blood!" Hyde shot back. "Have you no self-control?"

Marishka moved in front of Verona. "What did you think would happen? Three _nosferati_ who haven't eaten in days?"

"Need I remind you that I had Miss Poole spend a full day siphoning blood out of our patients precisely to avoid this problem?" Hyde growled.

"We got you your damned books! Why not show a little gratitude?" said Marishka.

Hyde huffed and tried to control his temper. "Aren't you the slightest bit concerned that the sheriff's department is now on high alert for vampires? They've quarantined the man you attacked in case he turns!"

Verona snorted. "He's not going to become like us. There was no exchange of blood," she assured them.

"That isn't my concern," Hyde said, moving out from behind the desk. He picked up a book from the stack of Storybooks that Verona and Marishka had brought with them. "But you did bring us the Storybooks, and that is most important. From now on, please only consume blood from the supply we've provided." He gestured to a selection of bottles, vials, and decanters filled to brim with human blood. The Queen recoiled in disgust.

Verona grabbed a bottle, pulled out the stopper, and took a long swig. She licked her lips. "It's better fresh," she said, "but it will do." She passed the bottle to Marishka who finished it. "We'll take one for the road. Vasilica needs to feed as well."

Marishka took a second bottle and tucked it into her robes. The two ladies grabbed their cloaks. "Summon us when something important happens," snapped Marishka.

"Don't you care what's in your book?" the Queen interjected as they began to leave.

"Only the Master cares what is in the book," Verona told her, "and until you are ready to use it, the coffin remains underground."

The vampires marched to the end of the hall toward the door. They again magicked it open. On the other side stood a prim-looking woman in sensible Victorian dress. She was accompanied by another woman in similar but much more disheveled attire. Marishka and Verona hissed when they saw them, but the other women paid them no mind.

"Miss Poole," Hyde greeted. "There you are. Do come in. Our friends were just leaving."

Miss Poole and the other woman walked between the sneering vampires into the mansion.

"Thank you for the rations," said Marishka to Miss Poole, shaking the bottle of blood. She smiled insincerely, but Miss Poole was nowhere a friendly mood, sincere or not.

Marishka and Verona stepped out onto the veranda, transformed into bats, and flew away into the night. The woman in the shabby dress gasped, but Miss Poole remained unimpressed. She shut the door and guided the woman to Hyde and the Queen.

"You needed a new subject?" she said without so much as a hello.

Hyde looked the strange woman up and down. "Yes, it seems we've hit a snag with our plans. I'm glad we decided to bring a few extra along."

"Bring who along?" asked the Queen. "Who is this?"

"Forgive me, Your Majesty. I should explain," said Hyde. "Before I perfected the serum that separated Jekyll and myself, we needed some subjects we could test the formula on. Grace here has been instrumental in procuring them."

The Queen's lip curled. "Is that so?"

"Her and her brother, who I unfortunately had to leave in charge of the asylum in my absence. Remind me, dear, which one is this one?" Hyde asked Miss Poole, referring to the woman dizzily wandering the parlor.

"Bertha Mason," said Miss Poole. "Bertha, please come back here."

The woman ambled back to her, becoming quickly distracted by the crackling fire beneath the mantle. Miss Poole rolled her eyes and herded her back to the group.

"So, let me guess. This is how we solve our problem with our other halves," the Queen surmised, looking at the demented Bertha with mild disdain.

"Precisely," Hyde confirmed. "Now that your hatter friend acquired the right compounds for us, our work can really start."

The Queen followed him behind his desk. She set her hand on his shoulder and glowered back at Miss Poole possessively.  "Another serum?" she asked.

"Perhaps. That's what the testing will be for. Miss Poole, please escort Bertha to the security of the basement and administer treatment,” Hyde said. "Her Majesty and I have more pressing matters to attend to. While you're there, you could please tell the Doctor to quit making such a racket and get ready to work?"

Miss Poole nodded. As she guided Bertha out of the room and out of sight, the Queen sat down in Hyde's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Speaking of Jefferson, what exactly did you give him in return for the supplies?" she asked.

"Merely an older serum. I wasn't going to waste my or the Doctor's time repairing that broken brain of his," Hyde cruelly remarked. “Although, he might make an excellent test subject in case we run out.”

Next, Hyde opened a drawer and pulled out a leather document case. He withdrew from it an old, weathered piece of parchment. Hyde smoothed it out on the table and moved so the Queen could see. "On to business. This is the next piece of our little puzzle. Unfortunately, I've combed every volume I have on the subject and I still haven't the slightest clue where we're going to find it," Hyde told her regretfully.

The Queen stood to pick up the parchment and held it close to her face. Her mouth twisted into a grin. "I know exactly where to find this," said the Queen confidently. "And we won't even need that deranged haberdasher to get it for us. Relax, darling, this one is going to be easy." The Queen cupped Hyde's face and laid another kiss on his lips. They looked at each other with wicked smiles and started to laugh. "Do you have any drachma on hand?"

* * *

The next morning, Jim threw open the door to Gold’s shop, jingling the bell above him. The sound of the bell took out some of the impact of his entrance, but he proceeded. There at the counter was Mr. Gold, polishing some antique artifact probably brimming with black magic.

"Mr. Jones," Gold teased, barely glancing away from his work. "How lovely to see you again."

"Cut the shit," Jim spat as he stormed toward him. "You knew."

Gold played dumb. He set down the item. “Knew what, dearie?" he said with a grin.

Jim rolled his eyes. "You knew that Killian was Captain Hook. The second I mentioned his name, you started fidgeting around. Don't deny it! He was chasing you as long as I was chasing him. You knew Hook's real name and you didn't tell me!” Jim was surprising himself by just how furious he was. He dialed back the tension and volume. “Why?”

"Would you really have believed me if I told you?” asked Gold, keeping his composure. Jim had no response. "Better for you to see it for yourself. I apologize for finding it a tad bit amusing, but really? You had absolutely no idea?”

Jim glowered at him in silence. He felt so foolish. Still, how was he to know?

"Did you come in here just to yell at me because, if so, I'll have to ask you to leave," Gold said, waving his hand. The front door magically creaked open behind them, ringing the bell again.

"No, there's another reason I'm here," said Jim, stuffing his anger back inside him. "Do you happen to know anything about vampires?"

Gold stepped back and looked at Jim with a curious eye. "Why do you ask?"

"Yesterday, a vampire attacked a friend of mine. He nearly died from the blood loss," Jim answered. "We’re worried he’s going to turn into one of those things! You're the dark magic expert. What do we do?”

Gold was silent, pondering. Jim didn’t have time for it.

“Come on! It's the least you can do after sending me off to meet Killian unprepared!" Jim barked at him.

Just at that moment, Belle walked in. Between the names being thrown around and Jim’s heightened tone, she was instantly thrown into confusion.

”Killian?” Belle squeaked. Jim didn’t know if she was referring to him or Hook. “Rumple, what’s going on here? What are you two arguing about?”

Now that the truth was out already, Jim was more than happy to spill the beans if it meant making Gold look bad in front of his wife.

”Oh! Hi, Belle!” Jim chimed. “You know, I’m so glad you asked. To tell the truth, I haven’t been completely honest with you. My name isn't Killian. It's Jim Hawkins - you know, the kid from _Treasure Island_ \- and I came here trying to hunt down Captain Hook. I was told that Hook murdered my best friend Killian, but what your husband neglected to tell me the other day was that Hook _is_ Killian. Can you believe that? I know I couldn’t. Anyway, I need his help because, in addition to Hyde and the Invisible Man, Count Dracula is in Storybrooke. He drained the blood clean out of a friend of mine and now we're all worried that we might have another vampire on our hands. Does that cover it? I think that pretty much covers it.”

Belle was speechless. She kept looking from Jim to Rumple, then off into the distance. She must have been having trouble deciding which piece of information to focus on, judging by how she opened her mouth to speak then retreated back into herself. "Vampires?" Belle asked, bewildered. "In Storybrooke?"

"Yeah, and Mr. Gold here might be the only one in town who knows anything about them," Jim confirmed. Jim side-eyed Gold with a faint but smug smile.

"Do you know anything about vampires, Rumple? If Dracula's in town, we're all in serious danger," Belle warned them.

Gold screwed up his mouth. Jim had played the concerned wife card and pinned him to a wall. "I might be able to help," he said reluctantly. "I'll have to see what books I have in storage."

"Great!" said Jim, with aggressive enthusiasm. "Let the Sheriff's office know if you find anything and we'll arrange a meeting at the hospital. Dr. Frankenstein is sharpening stakes and making charms out of garlic, so we really need him to calm down."

"Will do," Gold replied with thinly veiled contempt.

Jim turned to leave, but was stopped by Belle calling after him. "Killian! I'm sorry, _Jim_ ," she said. "While Rumple's looking for a book that can help us, why don't you and I walk over to the library? I want to hear all about this vampire situation - and your story too, if you don't mind."

Belle had that semi-starstruck look on her face again. Both Jim and Dracula were sort of literary celebrities, Jim surmised. A bookworm like Belle must be fascinated in knowing the real deal. After he'd deceived her before, Jim felt like he owed her the truth, or at least whatever wasn't too personal. They left the shop and strolled up the street toward the clock tower.

"So," Belle began curiously, "you're Jim Hawkins." She said his name with such great import. It was a surreal experience for Jim.

"Yeah, that's me," Jim answered awkwardly. He hoped she wasn't going to dwell too much on his prior dishonesty.

"I have so many questions," Belle said. "Maybe we should start with the vampires. What happened exactly?"

Jim told her all about Nadir and the bite marks they found all over his bloodless body. "We don't know much else yet," Jim explained. "Frankenstein won't let us in to see him until we're sure he hasn't been infected. We're hoping Gold can help with that."

"And you're certain it's the Count?" Belle asked eagerly, almost sounding like she wanted that to be the case.

"We haven't seen him, but based on the books that Thomas stole from the library, we can only assume he's the one," Jim replied.

Belle switched subjects. "Did you get a chance to read your story? How much of it was true?" she asked him.

Jim scratched the back of his head. He wasn't sure how much he wanted to give away. Then it hit him. He told Belle in the shop that he had a previous connection to Killian. Everyone else thought he was just another bounty to hunt. Shit. Jim prayed it wouldn't come back to haunt him. "It was more or less true. I was a little bit older than the book said. Trelawney wasn't on the trip. He was just our shitty landlord. Captain Smollett was a woman. Also, the book left out any magic. There was a siren attack that didn't get mentioned at all. That's how Arrow really died."

"Fascinating," Belle marveled. "And what's your relationship to Hook? That must have been quite a shock to you."

Jim pursed his lips. "It was," Jim said glibly. "Killian and I were friends in the navy. One day, he disappeared. Months later, I got word that a pirate named Captain Hook had killed him in a raid. Turns out, that wasn't entirely true."

"You must have been so happy to see each other," Belle said warmly. "What a relief after all that time."

Jim forced a nod and a smile. "Yeah, it was nice to see him." Jim really wasn't sure how he felt about seeing Killian. At first, he'd been in shock. Then wounded. Now... what? He didn't feel good. That much was certain. He hoped he'd have more clarity after sitting down with Killian and getting the full truth. Thinking it over, completely ignoring whatever Belle was saying, Jim had a terrible sinking feeling. This should have been a happy moment. In a world that made sense, the second Jim saw Killian, he should have ran to him, wrapped him in his arms, and never let go.

Storybrooke wasn't a world that made sense. There were werewolves and vampires and invisible men running around, and a hook-handed Killian in love with a woman named Emma. Jim thought this would all be so simple. Now he felt constantly on the verge of a breakdown. He ached with exhaustion down to his bones.

Jim ended his conversation with Belle on good terms. She was very understanding about the situation. He told her he'd bring back the library books soon and she told him to keep them as long as he liked.

"Thank you, Belle. Um... Does Killian have his own book by any chance?" Jim asked, wondering where he might be if not in Jim's. Belle returned with a volume titled _Peter and Wendy._ "This is a children's book. Killian's really in this one?" _  
_

"Well, Captain Hook is," Belle corrected. "Mr. Barrie didn't include Hook's real name. Of course, if you want the real story, you'll have to find the Storybook."

Jim held up _Peter and Wendy._ "Is this not the storybook?" Jim asked, confused.

"No, the Storybook is a magical record of true stories from the Enchanted Forest," Belle clarified for him. "Emma's son Henry has it. I don't know how much truth this book here is going to give you."

Jim shrugged his shoulders and opened the book. "It's a start at least." Jim thanked Belle again and returned home to Granny's, where he was intended to waste no time digging right into the book. He also thought of how he might get into Henry's good graces long enough to get a look at that book. More likely, he'd have to swipe it. He could worry about that later.

Darius was there when he opened the door, morosely pressing flowers. Nadir was clearly still on his mind. Darius looked up from his work and saw Jim with his new book.

"Did you find out anything?" Darius asked hopefully, holding his breath for the answer.

Jim didn't want to oversell it. "Mr. Gold thinks he might be able to help us. He's going to see if he has any books on the subject and we'll all meet back up at the hospital when he finds something," Jim told him. Darius shuddered. He didn't like relying on Gold for help.

"What book is that?" asked Darius, craning his neck to read the cover.

Jim held it up for him to see. " _Peter and Wendy_ ," he said, opening the pages. "Belle gave it to me after I met with her husband. Apparently, this has Captain Hook's story in it. Seeing as we don't have anything else to do today, I figured I'd crack it open."

"Does Hook know that you're looking for him?" inquired Darius. "You two were acting funny at the hospital."

 _"Oh, God. That's right,"_ Jim thought. Darius had seen Killian. He had been so preoccupied trying to console him about Nadir that Killian's presence in the room became a complete afterthought. "It's complicated," said Jim. "We met. I learned some things I didn't expect. He's settled down and he has a son now, or close to one. I don't feel right about taking him in." _Taking him in._ Interesting way to say murder.

Darius shuffled around in his seat to face Jim. "But what about all that bad stuff he did?"

Jim didn't really care about that, unless leaving him behind to become a pirate counted as 'bad stuff'. "Well, that's why I have the book. I want to know if catching him would really be worth it," Jim told Darius.

"Worth what?" Darius asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jim wanted the interrogation to end. Maybe if he pushed the right buttons. "Worth costing a boy his father," Jim said with heavy pathos. Darius never talked about his dad. Nadir only mentioned the man's death to him in passing. "That can be really hard on someone, especially when they're young."

"What would you know about it?" Darius asked defensively. "Did your father die when you were a kid?" He returned to his pressings.

Jim sat down on the bed. The springs squeaked. "Not exactly," said Jim, knowing he found Darius's off switch. "My dad abandoned us when I was about half your age. He left one day on a pirate ship and never came back."

"Why did he do that?" asked Darius, turning around. His softened tone told Jim he was sorry he'd been so rude.

Jim took a second to reply. The answer was caught in his throat. "He was bored," Jim choked out.

Darius stared at Jim blankly. Jim was used to that kind of look. It was a sort of confused pity. What kind of father walks out on his wife and son due to boredom? Leland Hawkins, apparently. Jim hated getting that look, but it was more tolerable than talking anymore about Killian.

"My dad died when I was ten," Darius said solemnly. "It was in the middle of the summer. There was a heat wave and there wasn't enough clean water to go around. My dad gave up his rations so we could stay hydrated. He took his chances with the river water. He got sick as the heat wave was coming to an end. The doctors were too busy to help. He died a week later."

Jim hadn't known the full story. What does one say to something like that? "I'm sorry, Dar," Jim replied. "It's probably not much consolation, but it sounds like you had a much better dad than I did."

"It sounds like your dad might have been doing you a favor," Darius told him. "Who wants a father like that?"

Jim sighed as he looked out the window. "Maybe someone who never knew anything different," Jim mused.

Neither of them said anything else. Darius continued pressing flowers. Jim cracked open his book and began to read. The story was just an innocent, childish romp through fairyland. It took a while for Captain Hook to even show up. If this Mr. Smee character was an actual person, Jim would like to have a word with him. Hook was certainly a wicked figure in the story, but Jim had a hard time taking all the melodrama seriously. He was thoroughly amused to find that, in this telling, the Dark One was a literal crocodile who swallowed a clock. Wait. Jim glanced over at his jacket.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

The clock symbolized Hook's approaching death. The Crocodile, Rumplestiltskin, had given him that watch to help him track Hook. If he knew anything about literary analysis - which he really didn't - that meant that Jim... was death. Jim remembered something Killian once said to him after they had gotten into some mischief as teens. "Jim Hawkins, you are going to be the death of me." Jim covered his mouth. He continued reading on. He almost got to the end. Peter Pan sent Hook hurdling into the Crocodile's waiting mouth. Jim hurriedly shut the book and tossed it aside.

"It's just a story," Jim whispered to himself, taking slow, deep breaths. "It's just a story."

He didn't kill Killian. Killian was alive and well. The Crocodile may have sent him to do his dirty work, but Killian was still alive and Jim did not need to feel guilty about anything. Right? Right. Jim picked the book back up and finished it. After Hook died, the Lost Boys went home with the Darling children and they all lived happily ever after. How nice for them.

After reading through the entirety of _Peter and Wendy_ , Jim concluded that any truth in the book could only be found in the abstract. Not particularly useful. It only reinforced Jim's desire to sit Killian down and get answers straight from his mouth.

But that would have to wait until at least tomorrow. Jim and Darius eventually had a late lunch. Maybe it was an early dinner. Either way, they skipped a meal that day. Neither of them were feeling very hungry. Darius seemed to greatly regret ordering tomato soup, probably because of its similar appearance to blood.

Jim then remembered the money David gave him. The two of them walked across the street to Three Sisters Ice Cream and got a couple of cones to go. They took their treats down to the dock and stared out at the water. Jim resented the lack of sunset.

Finishing off his two scoops, Darius said, "Do you think Nadir is going to be all right?"

"He's tough. I think he'll be fine," Jim replied, not convinced of his own answer. He desperately wanted Darius to find some peace about it. What did Jim know about finding peace about anything?

Once the sun had gone down behind them, Jim and Darius walked back home. When they got back,Granny had a message for them from Emma. Mr. Gold had found something. They were going to meet at the hospital quarantine at 11. Both Jim and Darius tucked in early, anything to make the time go by faster.

* * *

The next day, at 11 o'clock sharp, the group reconvened outside Nadir's quarantine. Jim and Darius waited with Emma, David, Killian, Regina, and Dr. Frankenstein for Mr. Gold to arrive. Jim kept trying to make eye contact with Killian, but he kept dodging his eyes. He sighed and gave up. Jim checked his watch. Fifteen minutes had gone by. Everyone was beginning to grow impatient, particularly the Doctor who also kept checking the watch around his wrist.

"How long is he going to take to get here? I do have other patients, you know," Frankenstein complained, checking his watch. "Also, while you're here, I still haven't heard back about that report I filed. The break-in at my house?"

Jim saw Emma and David look to each other for answers. "Sorry, we've been a little preoccupied with the near-murder that happened the other day," Emma said, pointing back toward Nadir. "We'll investigate, but odds are it was the Invisible Man."

"If I've been following the story correctly, this break-in happened _after_ you brought the nude, paint-spattered man to our morgue," the Doctor shot back. It seemed Jim wasn't the only burglar left in Storybrooke.

Sharp footsteps accompanied by the sound of a cane clicked from around the corner. It was Gold. He was wearing a charcoal-colored suit and carrying a leather briefcase.

"Good morning, everyone," he said with a pained smile. "How are we all this fine day?"

Regina elected to be the one to dignify his snark with an answer. "Thank you for being here, Mr. Gold. You do not know how glad we are to have your assistance right now."

"Oh, I think I can imagine," Gold replied, setting his briefcase down on an adjacent table. He opened it and removed a dusty, black leather tome. "Mr. Hawkins had the right idea, asking me for help. I'm the only one in town with any real knowledge of vampiric lore. Although, I should warn you, it's not a great deal more than your own. Now, you're worried that your friend in there might turn into one of those bloodsucking beasts, eh?"

Gold began flipping through the pages. Everybody gathered around. The parchment pages were covered in ancient script and grotesque medieval illustrations. Ghastly fanged creatures sank their teeth into unlucky humans. The same unlucky humans painfully changed form, sprouting bat-like wings and fangs of their own.

"That's how it works, right?" asked Regina. "You get bit and then you turn?"

Gold found the right page. It depicted a human and a vampire exchanging blood. "You've been watching too many movies, dearie. It's actually a bit more complicated than that. The condition is bloodborne, but it's not the vampire that needs your blood. It's you who needs the vampire's blood. Does Mr...?" Gold trailed off, motioning toward the quarantine. He hadn't been given Nadir's name.

"Khan," Jim told him. "His name is Nadir Khan."

"Does Mr. Khan have any necrotic blood floating about in his veins?" asked Mr. Gold.

They all looked at each other. No one knew the answer. Everyone turned to Dr. Frankenstein. Judging by the wideness of his eyes, he was a bit unsure himself.

"I could run a test," said Dr. Frankenstein, finding himself suddenly on the spot.

Gold shut the book. "You do that. Now, if you'll excuse me..." Gold set the book back in the suitcase, preparing to leave.

"Wait!" Darius called out. Gold halted as the boy bravely came forward. "What do we do if he...? Can we change him back?"

Gold looked to Jim to be the authority on how to talk to Darius. Should they be honest or tell him what he wants to hear? Jim glanced at the others. They were all parents. What would they do in a situation like this? David and Killian looked uncertain. Emma and Regina's eyes both told him honesty, no matter how hard it might be to hear. Jim bowed his head, allowing Gold to tell Darius the truth.

"To be perfectly honest, I have no idea," said Gold. "Much of this book still needs translation. We could try."

Great. Once again, Darius had to be left in limbo. Oh well. It was better than no hope at all. Gold shut the suitcase and put his hat back on.

"Mr. Khan's condition isn't the only thing we need help with," Regina said. "There's also the problem of the original vampire."

"Evidence suggests that it's Count Dracula," Emma added, shaking her head. Apparently, adding the Count into the mix was a little too much for her. She had Jim's sympathies.

Gold slightly smirked. "Yes, Mr. Hawkins told me and my wife yesterday. A truly fascinating development."

Regina glared at him. "You have to know what a danger that poses to the town," she said insistently.

"Indeed I do, but there's not much I can tell you that the Doctor here doesn't already know," Gold responded, not to be delayed any longer. "If the test for vampiric blood comes back positive, you'll need to stock up on your holy water and divine charms. I believe this world calls them crucifixes."

Emma turned to David. "Call the fairies at the convent," she told him. "Tell Mother Superior everything we know. I don't think we have access to any priests, so light magic is going to be our best option."

"On it," said David with a nod. He took out his phone and retreated to a quiet corner to make the call.

"Do they have any other weaknesses?" Regina begged.

Gold reopened the book. "Well, let's see. Decapitation, immolation, drowning..."

"What about sunlight?" asked Killian. "Don't those things turn to dust in the sun?"

Gold clicked his tongue. "Afraid not. Sunlight weakens vampires, but it would take a great deal of prolonged exposure to inflict any permanent damage."

Regina exhaled through her nose. This was not going to be as simple as she hoped. "Is there anything we could use as bait?" she asked.

"Of course, dearie," Gold said uncomfortably cheerily. "Which one of you wants to be in the quarantine next?"

The way he smiled when he said that infuriated Regina. "Thank you for help, Mr. Gold. That will be all," she said dismissing him.

They all began to pace about the room, thinking how they could best use this new information. One vampire was on the loose and another was potentially about to reanimate in the next room. While they tried to devise a plan of attack, Gold slipped out with barely a goodbye. Darius announced that he was feeling hungry, which gave them all an excuse to once again sit around their war table in the hospital cafeteria.

"I don't like the idea of offering anyone up as bait," said David, starting off the informal meeting. "The only reason our trap to catch Thomas worked was that the Evil Queen had control over his heart. Whoever this vampire is - Dracula or whoever - they've got to be smarter than that."

Everyone seemed to agree. "We have to find out where he's hiding," Regina stated. "We'll shut him out of whatever lair he's made for himself. Once he's been out in daylight for a while, then we can take him."

"Easy, Van Helsing," Emma said. "It might not be that simple. For all we know, the vampire could be anybody who came here on that blimp. We may have already met them. There could be no telling who it is until it's too late."

"Emma's right. There's only one person who can tell us who we're looking for," Killian agreed. "That's Mr. Hawkins' friend in the infirmary."

 _Mr. Hawkins._ Talk about a stake right through the heart. There was no reason Killian couldn't call him by his first name. Jim told himself that Killian was just trying to maintain the illusion, but the impersonal language still stung.

"Well, we're just going to have to wait until Nadir's results come back," Jim said tersely. "Hopefully, Frankenstein will let us see him and not start hanging garlic around the hospital like mistletoe."

Jim rose up from his seat. He asked which way the restroom was and they pointed him down the hall. As he walked way, Jim discreetly tapped on Killian's shoulder and cleared his throat. Killian did everything in his power not to jump straight out of his skin. He looked at Jim walking toward the restroom and caught him subtly motioning for Killian to follow.

"Hey, do you have a couple dollars for the vending machine?" Killian asked Emma. She produced a few bills. "Thanks, love." Killian took a roundabout way through the cafeteria and met up with Jim in the hallway between the men's bathroom and the vending machine.

Killian went to the machine and selected a bag of chips for himself. Jim leaned against it and stared him down. "What is it now, mate?" Killian groaned.

"So, I'm Mr. Hawkins now, huh?" Jim needled him, arms crossed in displeasure.

Killian took the chips and inserted another dollar. He picked out a Snickers bar for Emma. "We don't know each other, remember?" Killian said in response.

Jim let it slide. There were more important issues to discuss. "You know, we still haven't sat down so you can tell me all the shit that happened since you mysteriously disappeared."

Emma's candy bar got stuck in the machine. "Bloody hell," Killian said, kicking at its base. After a few good whacks, he was able to dislodge it. He took the chocolate bar out of tray at the bottom. "It's Emma's favorite."

Jim would rather have not known that. "Fascinating," he said flatly. "So when are we going to talk? Not to be pushy, I know we've had a lot going on, but I'm kinda starting to lose my patience." Killian looked around and shuffled his feet. Jim glared at him, unblinking. "You _owe_ me answers, Killian. Three-hundred years. It's the least you can do."

"Fine!" Killian relented. "When do you want to talk?"

"As soon as humanly possible," Jim told him. "Does that work for you?"

Killian rubbed his head. "Let me think about it", all right? I'll get back to you on the time."

"Keep in mind that I don't have a phone, so Granny has been taking my calls for me," Jim informed him. "I'm going to expect an answer by the end of the week."

"Or what?" Killian challenged him.

Jim thought that over. "Or I start telling people the real truth," he threatened. "Believe me. I really do not want to do that you. Although, I'd like it if you were a little less hesitant about letting people know."

"Jim..." Killian began, but Jim knew he didn't have any words for him.

"You don't need to explain yourself now," Jim said. "There'll be plenty of time for that later."

Killian looked away sheepishly. "Want anything from the machine?" he offered. "I've got one more dollar left."

Jim almost laughed. Killian wasn't worth shit when it came to difficult conversations. It was almost cute. "Sure," Jim accepted. "What's good?"

Killian bought Jim a bag of yogurt-covered pretzels. Jim took it from him and looked at the contents. "You know, I haven't had a pretzel since... Well, you remember. I still have the ticket stub." Jim opened the bag and took a bite. It was heavenly.

"So do I," said Killian, embarrassed. "We should get back before they wonder where we are."

"You first," Jim told him.

The two of them took their alternate routes back to the table, making sure they arrived at different times. When Jim returned, Emma was happily munching on the bar of chocolate Killian bought her. It made Jim less inclined to finish his pretzels. He sat back down and ate his snack in silence, offering a few to Darius.

Twenty minutes later, Emma got a call on her phone. It was a summons from Dr. Frankenstein. Nadir's blood test results were back. They all hurried back to the quarantine to find the Doctor waiting for them, clipboard in hand. Gathering around him with bated breath, they waited for Dr. Frankenstein to deliver the results.

To everyone's relief, the blood test results were negative. Nadir's blood was clean of any undead cells. Darius jumped for joy. Jim picked him up and twirled him around, they were both so happy. Frankenstein declared the quarantine lifted. His friends could finally see him.

The Doctor opened the door and Darius charged into the room ahead of the rest. He paused when he got a good look at Nadir. He was asleep, cuffed to his hospital bed and hooked up to various tubes and cords. Nadir was still quite pale, but the color was starting to return to his cheeks.

Jim joined Darius inside the quarantine room. The others waited outside until Jim and Darius could have a moment to say hello. Jim also took a look at Nadir restrained and, it appeared, sedated. Overall, he looked much better than when they found him days prior. Still, it was a pretty pitiful sight.

A nurse came along and gave Nadir a nudge. "Mr. Khan? Mr. Khan?" she said softly. "You have visitors here to see you." She took off the restraints that were keeping Nadir trapped in bed. "We won't be needing these anymore. Your test results came back clear."

Nadir's eyes slowly opened as they adjusted to the light in the room. He took a whiff of the scent that was pervading the room and grimaced. Jim hadn't really noticed it. Garlic. He looked around. Crosses had been nailed to every wall. Most disturbingly, there was a wooden stake and a mallet on a tray next to Nadir's bed. 

"Wow, Frankenstein sure thought of everything," Jim remarked. "Don't worry, Dar. They won't need to use any of this stuff."

"Jim?" Nadir croaked. "Darius? Is that you? Where have you been?"

Nadir looked up from his hospital bed. He smiled when he saw Darius. The kid ran over and gave Nadir a big hug, as much as could while reaching over the elevated bed. "I thought we were gonna lose you," Darius cried. "I thought you were going to be... one of them."

Nadir ruffled Darius's hair. "It'll take more than a few vampires to take me down," he laughed. He winced. Laughing seemed to hurt his neck wound, which had been thoroughly bandaged.

"Sorry it took us so long. The staff wouldn't let us through. What do you mean 'a few'?" Jim asked, alarmed. "There's more than one?"

The nurse came back in as Jim was about to begin his long overdue questioning. "I'm sorry, but Nadir is still pretty weak. This might not be the best time-"

"We're only going to ask him what he remembers from the attack. That's all," Jim told her. She still looked a bit reluctant to let Jim interrogate her patient. "We're friends, all right? This isn't just sheriff department business."

The nurse just turned and left the room, leaving the three of them to discuss what happened. The mood darkened considerably as Jim returned to his last question. "Nadir, how many vampires were there? You've gotta tell us everything you remember. What did they look like? What were they wearing?"

Nadir coughed. "There were three," he said weakly. "Two females and a male. They were pale as ghosts with an inhuman beauty I can't quite describe. They were dressed like Ingary residents, wearing cloaks. The women had long hair."

"Well, that's not a lot to go on," Jim said out of the corner of his mouth. "Do you know how they found you?"

"They must have smelled the dry blood inside the Albatross," Nadir replied. "I tried to fight them off, but they were too strong."

"How's our patient doing?" asked Regina as she entered the room. Emma was close behind. She took one look at their unhappy faces. "What? He is gonna be all right, isn't he? Or do we need to stock up on silver bullets?"

Jim shot her an unamused look. "He's fine," Jim said joylessly. "And I think you're thinking of werewolves. Nadir might be all right, but our vampire problem still just got bigger. Wherever Dracula is hiding, he brought a couple of friends."

Darius and Jim said goodbye to Nadir, who still needed plenty of rest. The nurse said that he should be discharged from the hospital the following day, although Jim had no idea where he was supposed to stay. The room at Granny's was already cramped without two people taking up the floor.

Once outside, Jim told everyone what Nadir had told him, which wasn't all that much. There were three vampires running around and they were probably hiding in plain sight. Emma swore in frustration and even Jim felt the need to cover Darius's ears.

"What do we do now?" Emma asked, exasperated.

"I hate to say it, love, but I think Frankenstein might have been onto something," Killian remarked. "Until we can find just where these monsters are hiding, I think we ought to tell the town to arm themselves. Pass out the garlic and whatnot."

David stepped toward the center of the group. "I heard back from the fairies. They're going to get to work on the holy water. A fairy blessing might not be strong enough though."

"Anything's worth a shot. Who knows how long it'll be before someone else winds up here bleeding from the neck?" said Regina.

The group decided to break for the day. With the sheriff's department spreading the word about the danger and the fairies hurriedly making a fresh batch of holy water, the problem seemed more or less under control. They would have to find a way to lure the vampires out into the open, but that wasn't a solution they would find right then. Though the threat of the undead gave them all pause for concern, Jim and Darius rested easy that night knowing that Nadir wouldn't be joining them.

In fact, now that Nadir was expected to be discharged, Darius decided to get busy immediately on making a room for him. Once again, Snow and David were overwhelmingly generous. They left their old mattress and bedframe in the apartment for Nadir to use, as well as some home items that they were going to replace. It was Nadir's plan to stay sequestered as much as possible, and the apartment above his favorite food source was the perfect place to do it. Plus, Darius was going to move in with him now that Nadir was in town, which meant Jim could finally have a bed to himself.

"We really need to fix that window," Darius noted, looking at the spot where Emma blasted the Invisible Man into the alley. He took some borrowed cleaning supplies to make sure the bathroom was spotless when Nadir got there.

Once the job Darius gave him in the kitchen was close to complete, Jim heard a knock at the door. In stepped Ruby holding a small note. "Hey, Jim. Sorry to bother you guys," she said, holding out the note for him. "Hook called. He said he wanted to meet with you tomorrow, something about the investigation into the whole vampire thing."

Jim took the note from her. It said about as much, plus the when and where. The docks. 3 PM. Finally, Killian decided to man up and talk to him. "Thanks, Ruby," said Jim with a nonchalant smile. He stuffed the note into his pocket.

Darius returned from the bathroom just as Ruby shut the door behind her. "Who was that?" he asked, holding a bucket and sponge.

"It was just Ruby. She wanted to know if there was anything she could help us out with," Jim lied.

Darius scoffed. "And you told her no? You suck."

Jim couldn't help but laugh. Kids. Granted, Jim couldn't totally relate. At Darius's age, Jim's interest in girls was almost purely performative. It wasn't until he met Killian that he understood what he really wanted. What a magical and terrifying revelation that was.

The next day was more of the same. Between breakfast and lunch, Darius moved his things out of the room he shared with Jim and into the attic apartment. Dorothy came in at one point to switch out the bedding so Jim would have clean sheets. Jim left her a nice tip. She also washed Jim's comforter for Darius. Like their old room, the loft in the attic only had one bed.

"Looks like you're sleeping on the floor now," Jim teased. He stuck out his tongue at Darius, who turned up his nose like the mature adult he thought he was.

At about 2:15, Jim checked his watch as he been doing every ten minutes since noon. It was nearing time to meet Killian. Although he fervently demanded to speak with him at the hospital, now Jim was sick to his gut with apprehension. What if he didn't like what he heard? Then again, any chain of events leading from Killian's disappearance to now was bound to be upsetting. Aside from the hook and _Emma_ , Killian was alive and more or less the same person he knew. How bad could the story be?

"Hey, Dar," Jim said, heading for the door. "I'm going out for a bit. Are you going to be all right by yourself?"

Darius nodded. There was a tiny, old dresser that David found them at a thrift store. Darius started organizing his things in it. "Are you going to talk to Killian?" he asked. Jim stopped dead in his tracks. "Or should I call him Hook? I'm still a little confused about the name."

"So, you figured it out, huh?" said Jim regretfully, wishing he'd said something sooner.

"I remembered the picture. It's what I get paid to do, you know, " Darius snarked. "How do you feel? Your friend's been alive this whole time."

Jim still wasn't quite sure how he felt. Any joy he felt that Killian was alive was eclipsed by abandonment, lies, and three-hundred years of painful searching.

"I'm a little confused too," said Jim, the understatement of the year. "But he promised to clear things up for me, so I'm going to meet him at the docks for a chat."

"Good luck," Darius wished him. Jim didn't know what he'd need luck for. Everything he dreaded had already come to pass. Nevertheless, he thanked Darius and left him to continue readying the loft for Nadir.

When Jim got to the docks, Killian was there waiting for him. He was leaning against a wooden fence separating the dock from the parking lot. He was dressed in black leather, which was an exceptionally good look for him. In another lifetime, this would have been Killian meeting up with Jim for a date. Oh, how times change.

Jim waved when he got close. Killian waved back with his hook. Jim couldn't stand the sight of that damned thing. Every lie and subsequent mistake over the past three centuries manifested in that piece of metal.

"Hello," Killian greeted him when he was within range.

"So, you wanted to see me?" Jim returned, his smarmy attitude masking his deep sense of dread.

Killian looked at him incredulously. "You were the one who insisted we talk, mate."

"I was kidding," Jim deadpanned. "I do that, if you don't recall."

Killian let out something between a laugh and a scoff. "Believe me. I can recall," said Killian, equally flat and monotone. "Why don't we both go on the ship and talk this out?"

"Like we were doing before Henry so rudely interrupted us," Jim quipped. Killian just shook his head. Same old Jim.

They sat down at the desk in Killian's quarters. Killian took the same seat Jim had him tied to days prior. The ropes were still lying in a heap around it. "I meant what I said before," Killian told him, uncorking a bottle of rum. "That was some impressive rope work. I should have known it was you."

"What can I say? I learned from the best," Jim said, accepting a glass of rum from Killian.

"Eton," Killian recalled, pouring himself a glass.

Jim took a drink. "No, not Eton." He looked straight into Killian's dark eyes. He was the best and Killian knew it. Everything of value he learned, he learned crewing with Killian aboard the _Hispaniola._

"So," Killian said anxiously, on the verge of blushing. "What exactly do you want to know? The hook? Emma? Where shall we start this jaunt down memory lane?"

Jim brushed his hair out of his face. “I don’t even know where to begin," he said after taking a deep breath. "What happened? Why did you just leave? You said you were going to be on a long journey, so I waited and I waited. A year went by and nothing! You just vanished. And now you're a pirate? I don't understand.”

Killian hung his head. "I can't imagine that you would. It's a long story." Killian awkwardly poured himself another drink. It seemed liquid courage was the only thing getting them through this exchange. That suited Jim just fine. He could hardly handle this world's liquor, but with rum, Jim could drink Killian under the table.

Jim finished his drink. "I've got nothing but time," said Jim, fixing another drink for himself.

Killian took a long sip and set his glass down. He licked his lips and began his story. “It had been about a month since I saw you last. I sent you a letter telling you what details I could. The King sent us on a mission to some far-off place called Neverland to collect an exotic plant called Dreamshade. We were told it would be made into medicine for the plague that had been going around. Turns out, it was poison. The Dreamshade killed Liam in the most nightmarish of ways. That alone was enough to make me defect against the crown, but the King intended to use the plant's toxins as a weapon against his enemies, civilians, even children. I was furious. We all were. Without Liam keeping us all on the straight and narrow, we turned our back on the kingdom and became pirates.”

“Liam,” said Jim with disdain, somewhat missing the point of the story.

“I know you never liked him much,” Killian replied, taking another drink.

Jim exhaled through his nose. It was quite the other way around. “He was always trying to keep us apart, but I’m sorry he had to go out like that. Why didn’t you ever come and get me? Without Liam or the law getting in our way, we could have finally been together the way we wanted. Remember how we talked about you becoming captain of your own ship, and me being your first mate? We were going to travel the world together.”

“Aye, I know. But I couldn’t ask you to leave your mother and become a pirate just for me," Killian explained. "You hated pirates. Still do, it would seem. You deserved better than that life. I would have visited but it just wasn’t safe. I was public enemy number one. Even being seen with me would put you in danger, especially considering the nature of our relationship.”

Jim wasn't totally buying it. “You could have sent me a note or something. ‘Hey, my brother’s dead and the king’s a genocidal maniac, so I’m a pirate now. Have a nice life!’ At least, I would have known, instead of sitting around waiting and wondering for months on end. I asked around about you. When you never came home, I must have searched the entire kingdom. A few years later, I finally heard the news. You were dead and some pirate named Captain Hook had killed you.”

“Who told you that load of rubbish?” Killian asked, still in disbelief over that story.

Jim narrowed his eyes. “Silver,” he said with gritted teeth.

Killian pounded the table with his fist. “That bloody bastard,” he spat before knocking back the rest of his drink. "We crossed paths again after Liam's death. The Jolly Roger overwhelmed his ship and we left him with next to nothing. The only reason I didn't kill him was because I figured you'd be against it. Not surprising he'd spin some kind of story about me. Although, he liked you. Not sure why he'd lie to you of all people."

"You and I both know that the person Silver cares most about is Silver," Jim stated. "And if I ever see him again, I'll kill myself. He's been a thorn in my side for far too long."

Playing with his empty glass, Killian asked a potentially explosive question. "Why do you let that man get under your skin like that? I told you he was a bastard right when we met and you never seemed to believe me." Jim furrowed his brow, but didn't answer. "He has a way with people, I know. Good at manipulation."

"Can we not talk about Silver right now?" Jim asked insistently, setting his glass down with unnecessary. "He toyed with the fact that I never had approval from my father. He made me feel valuable, used me, and abandoned me - kind of like someone else I know."

"Oh, I used you?" Killian asked defensively. Jim's silence spoke volumes. "I know I left. It wasn't right. I should have said something, but I was too much of a coward. But I want you to know, everything I did while we were together was out of love for you. There was nothing I wanted from you other than your love, your companionship, your..."

Jim leaned forward, resting his head in his palm. "My body," he finished for him.

Killian chuckled. "I think that was a two-way street, mate. We were lovers. Of course, that was something I wanted. I wanted all of you, mind, body, and soul. Isn't that what you wanted too?"

"Of course it was," Jim answered. He closed his eyes and tried to process. “Let me make sure I understand this," he said, running Killian's words back through his head. "You became a pirate because the king was a monster and he got your brother killed. You didn’t tell me for my own safety and because I'd never accept you being a pirate. All right. Fair enough. Then you spent three-hundred years doing what exactly?”

Killian looked away. He drummed his fingers and pursed his lips, like he really didn't want to answer. “A few years down the road, you may remember the kingdom having a bit of a regime change. We didn't really have as much to fight for, so we turned to more straightforward piracy. It was then that I ran afoul of the Dark One.” Killian held aloft his hook and let Jim make the connection. "I spent three-hundred centuries dithering about Neverland, waiting for my chance to strike. Then fate led me here where, oddly enough, the Crocodile and I have more or less mended fences. And now..." Killian trailed off before they got any closer to the present.

"Emma." Her name dripped with contempt as it left Jim's mouth. "She's... nice."

"Aye, that she is," Killian replied, wishing Jim could have left that alone.

Jim eyes drilled into Killian's skull. "What's the story there?"

"Not too much of one," said Killian. "I met her when I came after the Dark One. We hit it off and, after a few fits and starts, I'm the happiest I've been in a very long time."

Jim looked away, his whole body tightening. "How nice for you," he said bitterly.

Killian sighed. "Look, I know the way I ended things between us was nothing short of disgraceful, but I don't think you can fault me for moving on after three hundred years. I expected you'd do the same. You know, find a nice girl, start a family."

"Don't you think I tried?!" Jim yelled, regretting his volume. "I couldn't. I'm not like you, Killian. I can't be with women the way you can. I don't know why. How could I move on? Who else could I find to love who would love me back? It was only ever you."

Killian was frozen in his seat. "I'm sorry," he said softly, his voice trembling. His face said, _"What have I done?"_

Jim scooted his chair away from the desk, ignoring Killian's apology. “So, this has been a lot to take in,” he said, fastening his coat.

“I can imagine," Killian responded, watching him get ready to leave. Jim was clearly angry and Killian was powerless to do anything but let him be angry.

Jim stood up and dusted off his coat. “Thank you for telling me the truth,” he said finally. Jim wiped his eye, like he'd been about to cry.

“It _is_ the least I can do, after all," Killian said, setting the rum aside. He sank down in his seat. "You really spent the last three centuries trying to avenge me?”

“Wouldn’t you?” asked Jim sadly. All the light had gone out of his eyes.

Killian nodded. He had done just that – just not for Jim. “Are you all right?” he asked, having exhausted anything meaningful he had left to say.

Jim had turned his vacant gaze to the floor again. “It’s just... After three-hundred years thinking I knew how things were, finding all this out... Well, it's not quite what I expected. It's not what i expected from _you._ I am so glad that you’re alive, Killian. I am. But my life has been shaped by these things that I understood as truth. Seeing the way everything really is, after all this time, it's a bit of a letdown. In more ways than one.”

Killian understood. He shattered Jim's world when he left him behind. Then Jim built a new world for himself out of grief and revenge and, last week, Killian shattered it all over again.

“I should probably go," said Jim, heading for the door. "I’ll see you the next time we meet up to deal with Hyde. And the Queen. And Svengali. And the vampires. Holy fuck, there's a lot going on."

"You know, you really don't have to be helping us anymore if you don't want to," Killian told him, also standing up. "This isn't your mess to clean up."

Jim shifted his weight on his feet. "No, I do. I at least have to help you catch Svengali. I promised Nadir."

“Why?” Killian asked, coming around the table.

“Because if I did, he would help me catch you,” Jim stated bluntly. "I didn't get to catch you the way I expected, but I've still gotta uphold my end of the bargain. I'm a man of my word."

“Was it worth it?” asked Killian, stopping Jim before he could exit the open door. "Everything you did to find me, only to find out the real truth of it all. Was it worth it?"

Jim popped his collar, trying to put on an air of confidence. “You're asking me if three-hundred years of searching was worth it? Honestly, Killy, I really don’t know.”

They both paused. "You know," said Killian, thinking about Jim's pet name for him. "I still never managed to think of a good name for you, one that was just mine. You hated Jimmy, and Jimbo always reminded you of..."

"...reminded me of Silver," Jim finished. "It's all right. I always liked it when you just called me 'Jim, love'. It made me feel special."

"You are special," Killian affirmed. Jim's downcast look told him that he didn't agree.

"Hearing you call me 'Jim, mate' was a little unusual," Jim said. "I'll get used to it eventually."

After an awkward handshake, Hook and Jim went their separate ways. Jim walked back to Granny’s. Hook returned home to Emma. Jim got the answers he wanted, but emotionally, he was left completely unsatisfied. He opened the door to his now empty room and saw his new, warm bed waiting for him. It was a small consolation prize for a genuine nothing of a day.

Jim stripped and got in the shower. He turned on the water then, as the hot water rained over him, he broke down and cried. At first Jim thought it would just be a little trickle out of the corner of his eye, but it devolved into ugly, heaving desperate sobs. He'd been holding it back ever since he stepped off the Roger. Jim hadn't cried like that since his mother died. That was three-hundred years ago. He felt the water start to go cold. That was his cue to towel off.

He went to bed very early that night. Laying in a bed that small in such a tiny room, it brought Jim back to his days at Eton. He and Killian had been roommates, which Jim had worked very hard to arrange. There were two beds in the room, but more often than not, the two boys slept together in Killian's. Reflecting on it now, Jim couldn't help himself. He hugged his pillow tightly and imagined Killian in his arms again. As much as he wanted to believe it, Jim had a hard time accepting that Killian had been acting in his best interests when he left him. Abandonment for noble reasons was still abandonment, and it was the one thing Killian swore never to do. Jim closed his eyes and pictured their dormitory, a time when he was sure that he mattered. Jim was sure of absolutely nothing now.

In the morning, Jim got a very late start. With his own mission finished and Nadir's put on pause, he finally had the opportunity to lay in bed for hours and contemplate the futility of his existence. That was all well and good until he got hungry. He resisted the call of his stomach that was reaching out for something, anything to eat. Then he gave in. Jim got up, made himself halfway presentable, and left his room. Jim took the first step down the stairs when he heard voices coming from Nadir's room above. He listened in. He heard David, Emma, and Regina. He climbed the stairs to hear more.

"I know you're still recovering," Emma said, "we need whatever you can tell us about Hyde and his friends. Jim told us you came here trying to find one. Someone named Svengali?"

Nadir let out a profound sigh. "He did, did he?" he grumbled. Nadir? Nadir was here already? Jim was supposed to come get him at the hospital. Jim hurried to the door and barged right in.

"Hey!" Jim greeted. "I didn't know you were coming home today. Why didn't anyone call me?"

"Seeing as you don't have a car or a cell phone, getting a hold of you was a bit tricky for the hospital staff," Regina told him with the slightest twinge of mockery.

Nadir cleared his throat, which was sounding much clearer and more robust, another sign that his strength was coming back. "So, they're telling me you willfully compromised our mission," Nadir accused. It figured. The second he was the slightest bit healthy, Nadir was back to reprimanding him.

"They caught us, all right?" Jim explained, already drained. "They thought we might be working for Hyde. I had to tell them the truth, otherwise this whole mission would have been a bust. Look, they're on our side here. They want to help us, so let them help us."

"You told them everything?" Nadir asked, more disappointed than anything.

"Everything you told me, which honestly wasn't much," Jim said.

Nadir stared out the still-broken window. "Even at full strength, I can't leave this room until Svengali has been apprehended. Or at least until we know he has no path of escape," Nadir declared.

David and Emma turned to Regina. "I can always put a barrier on the town line again," Regina said. "Whatever happens, he won't be able to escape into the outside world. You've got to tell us though. Who is this Svengali? Why is he here? What's he doing with Hyde?"

Jim could see on Nadir's face a swirl of reluctance and defeat. "I'm not certain why he is here or why he has allied himself with Mr. Hyde," Nadir began. "But, I will tell you everything I know about the man. Erik Svengali - known in Ingary as Mr. Why - has left a trail of death from Persia to Paris, Paris to London, London to Ingary, and finally to here. He has a face like a living corpse, which is why he stays out of sight, often wearing a mask to conceal his identity. Svengali has many talents: music, architecture, murder. In our home world, he was known to the people he terrorized as the Opera Ghost. Your people might know him better as the Phantom of the Opera."

The room got so quiet, one could have heard a pin drop. "No fucking way," Emma whispered. Apparently, the 'Phantom of the Opera' was something of a big deal in this world. Nadir elaborated on Erik's crimes, his ugly face and uglier past, but he had no sufficient answer to why the Phantom had come to Storybrooke.

"Mr. Why..." David pondered. A light bulb went off in his head. "Is he the one with the carnival? Mr. Why's Circus of Freaks?"

Nadir sprang up in bed. "Yes! Have you seen him?" he asked urgently.

"No, but we've passed by the carnival. They've set up shop in an abandoned lot a few blocks down," David told him.

Regina began to pace. "Catching the Phantom might be the easiest way to find out where Hyde and the Queen are and maybe even the vampires," she thought aloud.

"I agree. I say we make catching Svengali our number one priority," said David.

Emma took command from there. "Then we need to go. Dad, you and I can scope out the carnival. Regina, you raise the wall. Make sure this creep can't escape. And Jim..."

Jim looked up at her. "Yeah?"

"We could really use your help."

"What about me?" asked Darius, who Jim failed to notice fixing Nadir some food in the kitchen.

"Ordinarily, I'd want you to come," Jim said, "but somebody needs to stay here with Nadir. He still needs to rest."

Darius's response was to mope and whine. "Darius," Nadir called out firmly. "That was not a suggestion. If I'm feeling capable of being alone, tomorrow you may join them. Not today." Darius obeyed his employer's request and went back to the kitchen. "As for the rest of you, Svengali, the Phantom, whatever you want to call him - he carries with him a magical lasso. He is so quiet and discreet you won't know he's there until you're dangling by your neck. I implore you, keep your hand at the level of your eyes. That is the best advice I have, aside from never mention him by name. 'Mr. Why' only." Understood.

The four of them left Darius and Nadir in peace. Regina left to raise the barrier along the town line before anything else went down in town. Meanwhile, Jim insisted that they stop for breakfast at Granny's. After eggs and bacon and some toast, it was off to the freak show to find the Phantom.


	9. The Merry-Go-Round of Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim, Emma, Hook, and David explore a carnival in the hope of tracking down Erik Svengali, the Phantom of the Opera. They meet Jasmine and Esmeralda, who share their stories. Jim and Killian reminisce about the good old days, which leads only to more pain for Jim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Despite borrowing a couple of elements from 'Love Never Dies', the Phantom is not going to suffer the same treatment that he did at the hands of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Christine and Raoul are not even going to appear in this fic. The Phantom's arc is going to focus on his relationship with Nadir (the Persian) and another character from a completely different story.

_"Come look at the freaks. They'll haunt you for weeks. Come explore why they fascinate you, exasperate you, and flush your cheeks. Come hear how love speaks. Come look at the freaks."_ \- "Come Look at the Freaks," _Side Show_

* * *

Going to the circus was the last thing Jim expected to do that early afternoon. After yesterday’s events, he was far from in the mood. Still, he found himself crammed into the back seat of Emma’s car with Killian, who seemed to be having similar thoughts.

Once they took off toward the formerly vacant lot, Jim caught Killian’s eye. They didn’t say anything to each other. Their last conservation floated unresolved in the air. Killian managed a weak smile and Jim tried to do the same. He didn’t want to show how devastating their last talk had been. He could grin and bear it for a while. After all, they were going to the carnival. That might lift his mood, provided there weren’t any clowns.

Jim spent the car ride listening to Emma and David make a plan of attack on Svengali. They were quite the father-daughter duo. Jim was still astounded that David was old enough to be her father. He guessed that magic must have been involved. Honestly, as far as Jim could tell, Emma was the only one in the car who looked their proper age. There was a story there somewhere, but it wasn’t Jim’s business.

“So what are we gonna see at this thing?” Killian wondered as the car came to a stop. “Dwarves and wolf-men and the like? We’ve already got a few of those running around.”

“Excuse you. Ruby is a wolf- _woman_ ,” Emma joked, exiting the car. Jim had to chuckle a bit. He hated to admit it, but when Emma wasn’t wrapped around Killian like a snake, she was quick-witted and even sort of fun. It made Jim just slightly sick to acknowledge it.

The four of them approached the carnival. It looked from their angle like a rainbow of peaked tents. David looked down the sidewalk to a sign that bore _“Mr. Why’s Phantasmagorium”_ in large script with an arrow. Jim followed David's line of sight. As he got closer, he could see an illustration of a domino mask beside the text. Svengali was definitely here. Or Mr. Why. Or The Phantom. Whoever he was, he wasn't bothering with subtlety.

David graciously paid for all of their tickets at the gate. It was police business after all. The sheriff ought to pay. That reminded Jim - if he was going to keep doing work on their behalf, he really ought to be on the payroll. Maybe he could afford a better room. How much would a car be?

He took his ticket from David and let the colorfully dressed man at the next checkpoint tear it. Maybe he’d save the ticket stub. He’d keep it in his breast pocket right next to his ticket from Pleasure Island.

“I can’t believe Regina approved this. What was she thinking?” David asked, examining the chaos around them.

There was a throng of Storybrooke citizens taking in the novelty of the carnival. There were vendors selling snacks and souvenirs and all sorts of carnival games. By the size of venue, Jim guessed that most of the Albatross survivors had to be carnival workers. Some of them he recognized from Granny's or the tavern, only now in extravagant costumes.

Emma took in the flurry of activity at the carnival as well. “She had a point,” Emma said, referring to Regina. “The Ingary folks don’t have American money. I don’t know how long Granny’s free meal program can last. They really ought to have a way to make some cash. And, honestly, it makes the Phantom a lot more easy to find.”

“So we’re agreeing to keep calling him the Phantom?” asked Jim, raising his hand. “Just clarifying.” That seemed to be the consensus.

Killian seemed a bit lost in the frenzy, not sure where to look next. Jim remembered a similar dazed and dazzled look on his face from their last visit to a carnival. “What did the Phantom tell all these people when they got on that blimp?” Killian wondered. “This is like half the passengers at least!”

Jim was happy to see Killian hadn't quite lost his sense of wonder. “Probably that they were taking the act to Francia,” Jim surmised. He came over to ground and refocus Killian’s attention, tapping his shoulder. “Shows like this have to keep moving to make money.”

Emma interrupted them, making Jim quickly step about a foot away from Killian. “Well, if that’s true, they’re all going to need regular jobs pretty soon. There's not going to be a consistent audience once the novelty wears off,” she said, hooking her arm around Killian’s. She guided Killian away, leaving Jim to stew in jealousy. Killian sent him an apologetic glance, but it didn’t help.

David came up to Jim, blissfully unaware of the drama between the other three. “I guess we’re splitting up. Emma and Hook are taking the north end of the carnival. You and I can take the south. Sound good?”

Jim nodded. The group went its separate ways and wandered around the fair. Swapping Killian for David wasn’t the worst trade-off, all things considered. Jim still felt a bit uncomfortable around David ever since his secret got out, mostly because David and Snow had both been so understanding. He felt like he deserved a bit more ire and was shocked when they refused to give it to him.

"So, your friend, he's been chasing this guy for how long?" David asked awkwardly, just trying to make conversation as they scoped out their surroundings.

Jim had heard the oddly inflected "your friend" in reference to Killian so many times, he was confused by the question. It took a moment to realize David actually meant Nadir. "He didn't give me an exact time frame. A while," Jim answered. "Although it can't have been that long. Darius has been with him since their last encounter and the kid's only twelve."

"Not sure how I feel about putting a kid in danger like that," David told him disapprovingly. Jim would later learn via Henry that he was being a bit of a hypocrite.

He had a point though. "He does his best to keep Darius out of the action," Jim said in Nadir's defense. "Although, with that kid, it's no easy task."

They examined each booth and attraction for something out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, at a carnival freak show, everything is out of the ordinary. They passed meet-and-greets with a bearded lady, someone labeled "the Human Pincushion", and the "Living Skeleton". Watching the Human Pincushion stick a rapier clean through his body without even wincing turned Jim's stomach. He and David both walked away. There was a cotton candy machine nearby, but Jim didn't have it in him to eat after that.

"This all seems pretty degrading, gotta say," Jim remarked, turning away from the spectacle.

"Is this really the best work they could get in Ingary?" David asked him, looking at the emaciated Living Skeleton with pity.

Jim didn't know. As far as he knew, most of these folks weren't even from Ingary. Much like Captain Nemo had assembled _The Nautilus_ with parts from different worlds, Mr. Why had similarly assembled his collection of freaks and performers. It was repulsive and dehumanizing, but also fascinating in a morbid kind of way.

Jim looked at a pair of conjoined twins and a father pointing at them to his son. It wasn't difficult to imagine Jim and Killian's faces in their place and a noose in that man's hand. You didn't need two heads or extra facial hair to be a freak. All you needed to do was love the wrong person. Jim knew two ordinary-looking queers wouldn't make much of a spectacle though, so the security of a locked cage would elude them.

”It says they share a heart,” David observed. “Huh, just like me and Snow.” David didn’t elaborate on that, leaving Jim to wonder just what the hell he meant.

Next, Jim and David came upon a very large purple tent in the center of everything. A sign read " _Mr. Why's Phantasmagorium, featuring La Svengali!_ " in golden script.

"I'm a bit confused by the sign, but I think this is the place," Jim said to David. David called up Emma and, within minutes, she and Killian had arrived and were examining the sign for themselves.

" _La_ Svengali?" Killian said confusedly. "So what, there's two of them here?"

Emma drew their attention to the image of a woman in beautiful regency dress beside the name. "Maybe La Svengali is Mrs. Why," she guessed.

"She'd have to be fucking blind if Nadir's description anywhere close to accurate," Jim commented. "Seriously, face like a death's head." Jim pulled his skin tight against his facial bones just for effect.

Emma stood for a few moments thinking. "I say we get tickets," she suggested.

David and Emma hurried over to the box office, leaving Jim and Killian alone for the first time since their talk aboard the Jolly Roger. Jim managed an awkward wave. Killian cocked his head up to acknowledge him. They milled around the area in front of the tent's entrance, avoiding eye contact.

"So how are things?" Jim managed to say, feigning nonchalance.

Killian tried to smile. "Things are good," he replied, shuffling his feet. "Emma... She keeps going on about something I'm not telling her."

"And here you are talking to the very thing that you're not telling her about,” Jim deadpanned. "Sounds like a personal problem." Killian looked hurt by Jim's callousness. "I'm sorry. She's been on my case too. She seems to think I might be hiding something and it's probably something to do with you."

"What do we do?" Killian asked, trapped.

Jim had a few choice words for him, but he was interrupted by the sudden return of Emma and David with their tickets. Before the show started, Jim went to the concession stand and spent a few Ingarian royal dollars on caramel corn. It was nice having somewhere in town where his money was still good. Back on Pleasure Island, Jim completely gorged himself on the stuff – partly why his stomach didn’t handle Monstro very well. But he had an adult’s self-control now and, aside from a slowly moving Ferris wheel, there weren’t any rides to speak of.

With his treat in hand, Jim joined the others keeping his place in line. He didn't quite know what to expect from the show. If it was like any other circus, there would be acrobats, jugglers... _clowns._ Jim hated clowns more than he hated pirates, and that was saying something.

When he was a young boy, his father took him into the city to see a marching band play in a parade. That was Jim’s first experience with the existential horrors that were clowns. A few months later, Jim’s father abandoned the family. Those two incidences didn’t have much to do with each other but – having lived such a long time – they became somewhat connected in his memory. Jim’s father didn’t make Jim think about clowns, but somehow clowns never failed to bring up Leland Hawkins.

Maybe there would be a lion-tamer or someone getting fired from a cannon. Those things were always impressive. "Please God, no clowns," Jim quietly prayed.

Killian turned to him and whispered, "Still suffering from coulrophobia after all these years?" He smiled teasingly.

"Shut up," Jim whispered back, embarrassed. He crossed his arms, then stuck out his bag of caramel corn. "Want some?"

"Don't mind if I do, thanks." Killian took a handful and popped it into his mouth. “Are you going to need me to hold your hand?” Killian asked quietly, making sure Emma didn’t hear.

“That’s not funny,” Jim replied. That wasn’t funny on multiple levels. One, Killian was mocking Jim’s aversion to clowns, which was not very nice. Two, he was jokingly offering to do something very personal for him that he would surely never do again. He was almost rubbing his relationship with Emma in his face.

The twinkle in Killian’s eyes went out. “I’m sorry. I should know better,” Killian earnestly apologized.

“Know better than what?” Emma asked from out of the blue.

Killian froze, but Jim knew what to say. “I told your boyfriend that I _get anxious_ around clowns and he made fun of me,” said Jim, shamelessly throwing Killian under the bus.

“Killian!” Emma exclaimed, giving his shoulder a light smack. “Not cool!” The line began to move and Emma disappeared into the circus tent with David.

“I said I was sorry!” Killian cried, rubbing his shoulder.

Jim rolled his eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re hurt,” he said sarcastically. “Not from that love tap.”

“Only my pride,” Killian joked. “I can’t believe you told her that!”

“It was either that or tell her how you know about my ninety-year-old clown phobia,” Jim reasoned. “Either way, you made fun of me so why shouldn’t you get a smack to the arm?”

Killian was about to make a comeback, but it was their turn to enter and find their seats. They presented their tickets. Two attendants, a woman in blue harem pants and a woman wearing large hoop earrings, opened the curtains for them.

“Welcome to the Phantasmagorium!” said the one with the hoops, her dress covered in additional bangles. She had striking green eyes that even Jim had to look twice at.

“Enjoy the show!” said the one in harem pants, wearing a jeweled top that exposed her navel. She was brown-eyed and also quite beautiful, but not quite as comfortable in her role. Maybe she was new.

Killian seemed a touch distracted by their attire, so Jim grabbed his arm as he’d done so often before and dragged him into the tent. Once inside, Jim immediately released him. He was too awestruck by the sights and sounds to worry about Killian anymore.

Unless his eyes were playing tricks on him, the inside of the tent was significantly larger than the outside. Jim had wondered how on earth a circus show would take place in such a tiny space. Somehow the circus ring was wide enough for horses to race around the side. It must be magic. Whether it was real or stage magic was yet to be determined.

There was no assigned seating, but the tent was packed. David managed to find a row of four seats with a halfway decent view of the ring. On a raised platform, a small orchestra was tuning up. What circus has an orchestra? One operated by the former Phantom of the Opera, Jim presumed. He sat down in between Killian and David, not the worst view if the show got boring. Out of the corner of his eye, Jim spied Emma linking her arm with Killian's. Jim tried not to stew in his jealousy.

The tension was interrupted by sudden darkness. Several members of the audience gasped. The orchestra went silent. One could hear a pin drop. Then a violin began to play, slowly across the strings like a lazy saw. Then faster and faster as more instruments joined in.

Colored lights flashed. Figures danced silhouetted on the walls. Anticipation climbed and climbed until everything stopped. The air left the room as darkness enveloped them again. Then, in an instant, the lights rose on a center platform that hadn't been there just seconds before. On the platform stood a man. As the lights brightened, Jim could see the domino mask covering his face. It was, as Jim presumed, Erik Svengali in his persona of Mr. Why.

Mr. Why stretched out his arms and began to speak. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to Mr. Why's Phantasmagorium!" It was a prideful, gregarious voice - ideal for a showman. "I am Mr. Why. As you all have so graciously welcomed my troupe and I to your world, I welcome you now into mine. I have traveled the realms assembling the show you are about to see, a masterpiece of masterpieces perpetually in progress. The short time we've spent in your realm has been most inspiring. Now let us begin our show with a new composition, a tribute to the music of your world. As we tell all our audiences, forget what you think you know and open your minds to the unforeseen as our performers exhume my latest exquisite corpse.”

The monologue gave Jim chills. On that mysterious note, Mr. Why cued the conductor. A lone cello played a riff, echoed by woodwind trills octaves above. Taking a breath, Mr. Why began to sing. _"Sweet dreams are made of these._ _Who am I to disagree?_ _I traveled the world and the seven seas._ _Everybody’s looking for something."_

His vocal quality wasn't quite what Jim had been expecting. Perhaps Nadir exaggerated his talents a bit. He wasn't bad, but far from prodigious. Jim barely had time to process the sound when Mr. Why vanished, leaving an empty stage. A swarthy, mustachioed man and a pale, raven-haired woman emerged from the wings to take his place, singing a new song as they tangoed together.

 _"I want your secrets. I want your disease,"_ sang the man. " _I want your everything as long as it's free._ _I want your love._ _Love, love, love... I want your love."_

“Really? Lady Gaga?” Emma remarked. “Weird choice.”

Jim hadn’t heard the song before and had no clue who Lady Gaga was. Judging by her title and musical style, she must be some eccentric aristocrat with too much time on her hands. The song certainly was different than any music he'd heard before. The lyrics about secrets, love, and scouring the sea felt so on the nose for him. Was this someone's idea of a joke?

 _"I want your drama, the touch of your hand._ _I want your leather studded kiss in the sand._ _I want your love._ _Love, love, love... I want your love,"_ sang the woman. " _You know that I want you a_ _nd you know that I need you._ _I want it bad, your bad romance."_

Suddenly, Jim flashed back to the island with Killian, sitting with him alone in the sand. At that time, the only drama they had seen together was an ugly mutiny and a pack of greedy grownups arguing over treasure. Things were so simple between them back then. Jim snapped back to attention when the full company, including the women who greeted them at the door, joined the pair onstage to sing and dance.

 _"With the taste of your lips, I'm on a ride._ _You and I could write a bad romance._ _With the taste of a poison paradise, I'm addicted to you_ _. Don't you know that you're toxic?"  
_

The violins were stabbing the air like daggers. In the midst of his musically sparked flashbacks, Jim found a brief bit of humor. He remembered the distinct sugary taste of Killian's lips when they kissed atop a literal amusement park ride, a Ferris wheel. He was sweet from all of the treats they'd been eating. Jim then remembered the Ferris wheel erected outside, the cotton candy, and the caramel corn. The Phantom couldn't have devised a worse place for Jim and Killian to be together, especially with Emma around.

 _"I want your horror. I want your design_ ," sang the pretty woman with the hoops. " _'Cause you're a criminal as long as you’re mine._ _I want your love._ _Love, love, love... I want your love."_

Jim set down the bag of candy corn. He and Killian had both been criminals, even before they took up their respective unsavory careers. Jim had seen couples like them strung up by the neck in the square of several towns in his travels. In spite of their fear, he and Killian had been too mired in young love to be discouraged. Something about it, as terrifying as it was, was also thrilling to Jim's reckless brain. It made him want Killian more. Every stolen kiss was an act of rebellion. Was Killian making these connections too? Suddenly, the music shifted and the bass began to pound.

 _"Some of them want to use you._ _Some of them want to be used by you._ _Some of them want to abuse you._ _Some of them want to be abused."_

The lyricist must have met Jim’s other paramours. Jim couldn't recall a single healthy relationship he'd had since Killian, not that he cared much for romance after his alleged death. Jim used people and let others use him in return. It was the name of the game. Oh, if only Dorian was present for this number. God, if Killian ever met Dorian, he'd really have to explain his taste.

 _"What, don't you want me?_ _You know I can't believe it w_ _hen I hear that you won't see me._ _What, don't you want me?_ _You know I don't believe you w_ _hen you say that you don't need me. I’ve traveled far to find_ _that you’ve changed your mind._ _This tainted love you gave me, y_ _ou better take it back or we will both be sorry. Take my tears and that's not nearly all!"  
_

Jim looked at Killian from the corner of his eye. He prayed to God he wasn’t thinking the same things Jim was. Unless it was making him feel guilty. There was a sadistic side to Jim that wanted a little discomfort from him. Killian was clutching the armrests of his seat. His jaw had gotten tight. If Jim had been in Killian's shoes, he'd be feeling awfully ashamed of himself right about now. Good. Let him stew in it for a while.

The girl in the harem pants began to sing. _"I want your love and I want your revenge._ _I want your love. I don't wanna be friends._ _I don't wanna be friends. I don't want to be friends!_ _Want your bad romance!_ _With the taste of your lips, I'm on a ride!"_

 _"Don’t you want all of my love and revenge?_ _Baby, we could write a bad romance._ _Don’t you want my tainted love and revenge?_ _Baby, we were quite a bad romance,"  
_sang the full company, exuberantly dancing. " _Oh…_ _Caught in a bad romance. You’re toxic!_ _Oh!_ _Caught in a bad romance. You’re toxic!"_ The music slowed down. The first woman sang, " _I was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar when I met you."_ Then orchestra played four loud blasts of music while the dancers struck a final pose.

Jim was surprised when suddenly it was over. The crowd rose to their feet with roaring applause while the dancers stood frozen, some of them hanging in midair, some of them balancing on horseback. Killian and Jim both sat still in their chairs, well-aware that they had just witnessed a true powerhouse performance but too uncomfortably introspective to move. Jim managed a few claps. He looked at Killian's hands, reminded once again of the hook.

"I can't really applaud anymore, I'm afraid," said Killian, feeling Jim's eyes on him. He smacked the hook against his palm. "The sound's not quite the same."

Jim frowned. "Was it hard getting used to that thing?" he asked sincerely.

Killian held the hook up to his eyes. "Aye, but it's not like I didn't have the time."

"I'm sorry that happened to you," Jim told him as the crowd began to sit themselves back down. "Why-?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," Killian said before Jim could inquire how he provoked the Dark One into cutting off his hand. “But to tell the truth, I probably had it coming.”

Jim didn't respond. He just sat back in his seat while the next act began. For the next hour and a half, Jim and the others were treated to spectacle after spectacle of dance, acrobatics, and magic each set to a different style of music. It was a true world showcase. Acrobats dangled from the ceiling on long fabric, spinning and twirling up and down.

Even the band, sans larger instruments like the piano, was also doing choreography in perfect unison. The horses galloped in a circle around the stage, with the riders balancing in ballet positions en pointe. Every element of a traditional circus was augmented by music in genres Jim couldn’t describe. Once in a while, Killian would make a noise of recognition, another of Mr. Why’s new pieces for the Storybrooke audience.

Jim noticed that the two women who greeted them at the door were also featured dancers. Their dance styles were very different, but the multitude of styles on stage blended together into quite a spectacle. The green-eyed woman with the bangled jewelry led other people from her homeland in a dance featuring a lot of stomping and skirt swishing. The brown-eyed woman in harem pants led the company in a song and dance which Emma misidentified as something called “Bollywood.”

There were other musical acts from other realms as well, most of which Mr. Why had collected somewhere in Ingary’s population of foreigners. Still, there was neither hide nor hair of Mr. Why or 'La Svengali', which confused Jim to no end. It wasn't until the show was drawing to a close that Mr. Why reappeared onstage again to introduce a blonde, curly-haired ingenue in a bejeweled ivory gown.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Mr. Why said almost in a whisper. "As I was assembling this circus, a woman came to me and asked me if I could make her into a singer. After she sang for me, I said to her, 'No, my dear. With a voice like yours, I could make you into a star.’ Since then, she has been the centerpiece, the crown jewel of our show. Without further ado, I give you... La Svengali."

The woman stepped forward into the spotlight. Mr. Why backed out of the way and cued the orchestra. He and La Svengali exchanged glances before he retreated to the wings, leaving her standing before the audience alone. The band began to play a slow dissonant sound, very deliberate but unpleasant to the ear. Jim watched as La Svengali's fists loosened, her spine straightened, and she stood proudly before the audience. Confidence blossomed during the cacophony. It was at this point that the chord resolved and the band switched courses, playing a beautiful sweeping melody.

After an inhale, La Svengali began to sing. " _I'm trying to hold my breath. Let it stay this way. Never let this moment end. You set off a dream in me, getting louder now. Can you hear it echoing? Take my hand. Will you share this with me? My darling, without you, all the shine of a thousand spotlights, all the stars that we steal from the night sky will never be enough, never be enough! Towers of gold are still too little. These hands could hold the world but it'll never be enough, never be enough for me!"_

Her voice was absolutely breathtaking. Between her soaring coloratura, the intricate orchestrations, and the kaleidoscopic light show accompanying them, Jim was positively mesmerized. She had seemed so timid before, but now her aura of charisma filled the room along with her sound. Listening to her, letting himself be transfixed by the light, Jim forgot about all of his problems, Killian, Emma, even Svengali.

He pictured towers of gold falling and a hand outstretched. That was the moment it became clear to him. Silver couldn't decide whether to save his gold or rescue Jim dangling over the collapsing treasure trove. Not Killian though. The only treasure that meant anything was Jim. Killian's gold tumbled into the abyss as his hands pulled Jim to safety. When Jim fell into his arms, that was the moment he found home. Nothing else from then on was enough.

La Svengali's song ended and the crowd broke from their stunned silence and roared with applause. Something inside her broke as well. Her poise cracked. Suddenly, she was demure and meek, bent over in surprise at her praise. Did she not know how talented she was? Was this her first audience? Even Jim had to stand and clap for her. Mr. Why rejoined her onstage, taking her hand and holding it aloft. He led her in a bow. Jim heard hoots and whistles above the applause, even some stamping of feet. Mr. Why raised his other hand to quiet the crowd.

The violins began again. "On behalf of La Svengali and myself, I thank you all for indulging us in this little show of ours," Mr. Why said to them all. "You have been a most magnificent audience. And now, before we part, one last piece. Lead us, La Svengali, in our grand finale."

Mr. Why cupped her face. He didn't lower his hand until the band joined with the violins. She stood straight again. Together they sang a lovely duet. As the lights rose, Jim could see the entire ensemble enter and file around the circle, some dancing, some balancing on horseback, some even took back to the trapeze.

 _"If we only have love, then tomorrow will dawn and the days of our years will rise on that morn,"_ sang Mr. Why softly. " _If we only have love to embrace without fears, we will kiss with our eyes. We will sleep without tears."_

La Svengali joined him. _"If we only have love with our arms open wide, then the young and the old will stand by our side. If we only have love, love that's falling like rain, then the parched desert earth will grow green again."_

The emerald-eyed woman emerged from the wings. She sang, _"If we only have love, for the hymn that we shout, for the song that we sing, then we'll find our way out."_ The woman in blue joined her. _"If we only have love, we can reach those in pain. We can heal all their wounds. We can use our own names."_

The rest of the company followed suit until they were all singing as one. _"If we only have love, we will never bow down. We'll be tall as the pines, neither heroes nor clowns. If we only have love, then we'll only be men and we'll drink from the grail to be born once again. Then with nothing at all but the little we are, we'll have conquered all time, all space, the sun, and the stars!"_

The entire ensemble proclaimed the final note of their anthem in a solid harmonic blast. La Svengali's operatic descant hovered over the rest of their voices until the button played by the orchestra silenced them all. The company took their final bow. Mr. Why insisted that La Svengali bow several times. The woman was overcome by it all, astonished that they were all applauding for her. The ensemble reprised an earlier piece on their way out. Once the stage was bare, the lights came up telling the audience to leave. David stood and stretched.

"Well, that sure was something, huh?" David asked Jim.

Jim was flabbergasted. He really hadn't expected such a powerful and unique experience. And barely a clown in sight. “Yeah, that was... certainly something. What did you think, Hook?" Jim had to remind himself to use Killian's abhorrent nickname for fear of seeming too friendly.

Emma and Killian got up from their seats as well. Neither of them knew quite what to say. Killian looked to Emma for her opinion. "Better than Cirque du Soleil," Emma stated, whatever that meant.

The four of them left the circus tent, still reeling from the show and uncertain of what to do next. They wandered around the entrance for a minute, each scratching their heads. Emma whispered something to Killian and Jim watched from the other side of the small pavilion. Killian glanced at him and Jim looked away. David whistled and they all came back together.

"So," David began to ask, "what exactly did we learn in there?"

Emma, Jim, and Killian all exchanged looks. "That Phantom can really put on a show," Emma said jokingly. "That opening number was fun, but if he wants to take this on the road, he’s gonna get a cease and desist letter from Columbia Records. Also, somewhere between the opera house and here, the Phantom must have picked up some magic."

"Emma's right. That tent is way too small to have fit all that inside," Jim added. "And the stage just appeared out of nowhere. Maybe that was stage magic, but Nadir still didn't mention prestidigitation as one of Sven- _you-know_ 's skills. And he mentioned a lot."

"If he's got magic _and_ Hyde thinks he's useful, we'll have to be even more careful bringing him in," Killian reasoned.

David nodded, obviously trying to come up with their next steps. Emma looked past her father toward the concession stand. Jim turned and saw two of the dancers from the show getting themselves a snack. He and Emma, thinking the same thing, hustled over to them before they disappeared back into the tent. They were the same women who greeted them at the door. One had her head covered, biting into a soft pretzel. The other had wrapped her shoulders in a shawl, about to sink her teeth into a candy apple.

"Excuse me!" said Emma, catching their attention. To Jim's surprise, they didn't seem annoyed to be hassled by two audience members. Maybe he would just let Emma do the talking. "You're two of the dancers from the show, right?" Emma asked, knowing full well the answer was yes.

The green-eyed woman in the shawl spoke up. "Yes, did you enjoy the performance?"

"Yeah, I've never seen anything like it. You were fantastic. My name's Emma," Emma said to them, buttering them up a bit. She shook their hands.

"Jim," said Jim, also shaking their hands. It was nice to introduce himself by his real name again.

The brown-eyed girl adjusted her head scarf. “They call me Diamond,” she said, smiling gently.

“Emerald,” said the other. Her posture was stiffer. Maybe she wasn't quite so keen on speaking to the riff-raff after all.

Emma didn't help by being slightly crude. “Ignoring that those are stripper names, would either of you by any chance know where we could find Mr. Why or La Svengali?”

The women looked at each other uncertainly, struck by Emma's sudden lack of tact. “Why do you want to know?” asked Emerald, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Jim cut in before Emma said anything else. “It’s about a potential security threat to the carnival. We need to speak with him immediately,” he told them with urgency. A second later, it occurred to him that maybe he should have just said they wanted an autograph.

"We don't know where he is," said Diamond, clearly peeved at having what Emma described as a "stripper name." "Are you the local law enforcement?"

"Yes, we're with the Sheriff's Department," Emma said, piggybacking off Jim's statement. She displayed her badge. “We received a call from Mr. Why that someone had been prowling around the lot, maybe getting ready to rob or vandalize the place."

Diamond's ears perked up. "A thief?" she inquired, completely forgetting Emma's failed attempt at humor.

"Yeah, we've been having a real problem with them lately," Emma replied. Jim wasn’t the only one who knew how to twist the truth it seemed.

"You wouldn't happen to know his name, would you?" asked Diamond, oddly invested in the matter. Emerald nudged her, seemingly to settle her down. "Does he live in Storybrooke?"

Emma examined their expressions. Something was off. "Why would you be interested in a criminal who lives in Storybrooke?" she asked Diamond. "Who are you?"

Diamond shrank back. Emerald sighed. "You might as well tell her," she said to Diamond, who was clearly regretting her words.

"My name," Diamond began apprehensively, "is Princess Badroulbadour. However, you may call me Jasmine."

Emma was stunned into apoplectic silence. "Jasmine? _Princess Jasmine?_ " she choked out.

"Yes. Is that also a 'stripper name'?" Jasmine asked, unamused by Emma's dumbfounded, vacant look.

"Yeah, but only because strippers wish they were you!" Emma blurted. "Oh my god. Princess Jasmine of Agrabah? Like from _Aladdin?_ "

Jasmine confirmed with a nod, getting less annoyed and more bewildered. Emerald butted in. "Lower you voice, please!" she hushed.

"I'm sorry. I don't usually get starstruck, but you were my favorite princess when I was a kid," Emma told her. Jim wasn't sure Jasmine knew what she meant, but he was almost certain she didn't care. "If I could tell my younger self that she was going to meet the real Princess Jasmine, that kid would-"

Jim coughed loudly. He was very scared Emma's next words would be "shit a brick."

"I'm sorry. You probably have no idea what I'm talking about," Emma said, remembering herself.

Emerald spoke up again. "Actually, we do. We know the people of this world recognize us from stories they've been told. That's why we use other names. You might know me as Esmeralda." She waited for Emma's reaction.

"No shit," Emma replied. She was having quite a day. "From _Hunchback_?"

"It would seem so," said Esmeralda, amused by Emma's response to their identities.

"This might be the weirdest day of my life and that is saying _a lot,"_ Emma continued. "Wait, what are you doing in Storybrooke? And why are you performing in the Phantom- I mean, Mr. Why's circus?"

Jasmine and Esmeralda conferred with each other through a brief glance. "I'm here because it's my job. Things were getting a little rough in Paris and Mr. Why gave us a way out," said Esmeralda frankly. She turned to Jasmine. "Your Highness?"

Jim grimaced. Emma probably should have been addressing Jasmine as "Your Highness" or "Your Majesty." Maybe they both should have bowed. He never met royalty before. Actually, he had. Since coming to Storybrooke, he had met the Nolan family and both halves of Regina. Still, they seemed to have turned their back on their royal status for the most part. Jasmine was a princess with everything that implied.

"I'm looking for someone," was Jasmine's curt reply.

"The thief?" asked Jim, trying to put the pieces together.

Emma let out a barely audible gasp. "Aladdin. Right?”

"Do you know him? Do you know where he is?" Jasmine all but begged, dropping her distant veneer. 

Emma tightened up, returning to her professional self. "Do you know where we can find Mr. Why?" she asked in return. The words seemed to pain her. Jim watched with growing joy as Emma extorted her childhood idol. Jasmine was silent. The conversation suddenly turned into a chess game for the information each possessed, one that Emma intended to win. "Jasmine, why don't you join us for a late lunch?" Emma suggested. “Maybe we can help each other out.”

Jasmine huffed but agreed. She told them to wait while she changed in her dressing room. Esmeralda followed after, exasperated by the mess that was just created. As the two ladies walked back to the tent, David and Hook rejoined the group.

"So what did you find out?" David asked, now eating a funnel cake.

"You'll never believe it," Emma told him before proceeding to expound on the all the details about Jasmine and Esmeralda. David was mildly impressed, but the women's celebrity status was lost on Killian. Rather than overwhelm Jasmine with interrogators, David and Killian decided to head out, leaving Jim alone with Emma for the rest of the investigation. Great.

After Jasmine changed out of her costume, Jim and Emma took her to Granny’s, away from any listening ears at the carnival. Before they left, Jasmine swore Esmeralda to secrecy on the matter. They got a seat at the furthest table and Jasmine sat with the door behind her, still looking over her shoulder for anyone that might see her talking to them. They ordered lunch, then got down to business.

“So, Aladdin. Why do you think he’s in Storybrooke? What happened to him?” Emma asked before even touching her fries.

Jasmine struggled with a bottle of ketchup. “It’s a rather long story. I suppose you know most of it already. Was Aladdin your favorite prince?” she asked cheekily.

“No, I was more into Prince Eric. Don’t tell Hook. He might get jealous,” Emma said to Jim. Jim made no promises, feeling burnt that Killian found someone new to get jealous over. “Anyway, I know the gist of it. Magic lamp, flying carpet, you and Aladdin get married at the end...”

“We never got married,” Jasmine told them. “Aladdin left Agrabah in search of aid for our kingdom. We were under siege from the forces of Mozenrath, a powerful sorcerer from the Black Sands. We had no hope of opposing him on our own. We had an ally before – a genie – but Aladdin set him free before Mozenrath’s invasion.”

“Do genies lose their power after being set free?” Jim asked her, stuffing a sandwich into his face. Emma was similarly curious.

“When one becomes a genie, they are granted phenomenal cosmic powers…” Jasmine explained.

“And an itty, bitty living space. I’ve heard. So freedom means no more magic. That’s a shit gig,” Emma finished for her.

Jasmine looked behind her again. Jim guessed that she was afraid of being seen by the other circus folk or, God forbid, Svengali himself.

“We heard tell of another genie, just as powerful as the first,” Jasmine continued. “It was our only hope of defeating Mozenrath, so Aladdin set out on a journey to find it. The genie was said to be somewhere in the Enchanted Forest. After months with no return, we sent scouts out to find him. They reported that everyone in the Enchanted Forest had vanished, including – they presumed – both the genie and Aladdin.”

Jasmine's story was so captivating, Emma had almost forgotten her food. “How long ago was that?” she inquired, taking a bite of her pickle spear.

“It must have been about three years ago,” Jasmine answered, not quite sure if her estimate was correct. “I’ve been searching for him ever since.”

Emma sucked some sauce off her fingers to use them to count. She stared toward the ceiling, running numbers through her head. Her eyes went wide. She had a breakthrough. “That must have been Zelena’s curse,” Emma realized. “I didn’t know any new people would have been taken.”

“Regina’s sister?” Jim asked, wiping grease off his lip. “What did she do?”

Emma sighed. “What didn’t she do?” she answered bitterly. “Basically, she took everyone in the Enchanted Forest and brought them back here. Somebody had to, I guess. Anyway, that means Aladdin’s here somewhere… and it’s possible we might already know him.”

“That’s wonderful!” Jasmine cheered, before remembering to keep her voice low. “I can’t wait to see him. We had to put our wedding on hold before his quest. I think I might regret that decision. And what of the genie?”

"Sidney." Emma sat up and flexed her shoulders. She knew the answer to this one. “I’ve got good news and bad news for you. The genie is here… but he’s also been set free. He's editor-in-chief of _The Daily Mirror_ and, to my knowledge, lost all his powers.”

Jasmine’s face fell. Her last hope at saving her people from Mozenrath, gone. “Free…” she whispered. “You know, I spent so much of my life longing for freedom. I shouldn’t be so sad knowing someone else found theirs. It’s a little sick, isn’t it?”

Definitely not one for words, Emma placed a hand on her shoulder. “Hey,” she said reassuringly, “Storybrooke is chock full of magic. We can figure something out for you. We’ll help you find Aladdin, but first we’ve got to deal with the Phantom. Sorry, _Mr. Why._ ”

”What about him?” asked Jasmine. “I thought you wanted to help him.”

Emma cast an icy look at Jim. He shot her a look back. It wasn’t his fault she forgot their story. ”Mr. Why is a part of a conspiracy with a man named Mr. Hyde. They’re up to something here, but we don’t know what,” Emma explained.

Jasmine looked mildly surprised at the most. “Really?”

”There’s a reason that airship crashed. Hyde wanted to come here,” Jim added.

Jasmine shifted guiltily in her seat. “Well, I knew that much.”

”You did?” Emma asked, shocked.

”Why’d you think I joined that ridiculous circus? I needed a way to get here,” Jasmine said defensively. “I didn’t know about any conspiracy. Mr. Why goes to lots of different worlds with his show.”

”But you do know where he is?” asked Emma, controlling the conversation.

Jasmine wasn’t intimidated. “Approximately. Do you know where Aladdin is?” she asked in return, not willing to give up her only bartering chip.

”No, but he won't be hard to find,” replied Emma. “First, we have to catch Mr. Why. If you help us, we’ll help you track down Aladdin.”

Jasmine agreed to help them capture Mr. Why on the grounds that their next move would be locating Aladdin. They made a plan to locate his hidden dressing room, where he could be cornered with relative ease. The two ladies shook on it, then Jasmine covered herself and took her leave before she was spotted.

"Wow, and I thought Nadir was paranoid," Jim commented, finishing his food. "What is it about this guy that scares the shit out of people? Emma?"

Emma wasn't listening. She was watching Jasmine walk away down the street, turning her face away from every person she passed. "I never thought I'd say this, but I don't know if we should trust her," Emma said.

"Why not?" Jim asked, remembering his half-eaten meal left on the table.

Emma sat back down with him and set her food aside. "She knew they were coming here. How could she possibly know that unless the Phantom told her? Or Hyde? She's rich. For all we know, she could have financed the whole thing," Emma postulated. "What if she's working for Hyde?"

"Princess Jasmine? Your hero? Why would she work with a guy like that?" asked Jim.

"Believe me. The people you read about are rarely like they are in real life. Maybe Hyde promised her a way to find Aladdin if she helped him," said Emma, making wild guesses.

Jim wiped his mouth. "Anything's possible, but more likely she just overheard them talking about it," Jim reasoned. "You don't trust a lot of people, do you? I know you don't trust me."

Emma glared at him. "Can you blame me?" she asked, dead serious.

Jim let out a long breath. "She doesn't work for Hyde. I know, because I was moving cargo for him not too long before he came here. That's how I knew where to find Hook," Jim confessed. "My cards are on the table. Trust me now?"

Emma didn't quite know what to make of that. "I'm guessing pirate hunting got a little slow, huh?" she remarked.

Jim chuckled humorlessly. "You could say that. Look, I didn't know he was such a monster. He just signed my checks. But, technically speaking, I did work for him. I don't like the guy, never have. And I wouldn't have done any work for him to begin with if I had known what he was up to."

"Hyde told you where to find Hook," Emma said, completely missing the point of Jim's confession. Can't she just let it go?

"Not exactly," Jim expounded. "He mentioned some people came to the asylum from Storybrooke - a prince, a princess, a witch, and a pirate. It only took a couple of questions for me to figure out which pirate it was. So I swiped the coordinates and told Nadir that I knew where Hyde and Svengali were headed. If he agreed to pay for the boat ride, I'd tell him where to go."

Emma sat back in her seat. "Huh," she said with mild surprise. She looked Jim up and down.

"What?" Jim asked uncomfortably, feeling very observed.

"You're a very good liar," said Emma, factual and detached. "Every day with you, it's like another layer of the onion gets peeled off. How many more layers have we got, Philip? Sorry. _Jim?_ "

She was doing it again. That devil stare. "Look, I get that you're a little suspicious of me because I was going to bring your boyfriend in for a bounty, but that's done. Honestly, I feel like part of this might be my fault, so can't you just let me help you?"

"It wasn't the bounty," Emma told him. "I'm not positive there ever was a bounty. It's your whole story. First, Killian, the victim in this situation, tries to hide it from me. Then you two are basically playing improv games together to make a coherent story. If Hook hadn't been so tight-lipped about it, what would your story have been?"

Jim inhaled, taking the brief time to get his facts straight. "We crossed paths as pirates. He marooned me on an island. I became a pirate hunter. I went looking for him when they placed a bounty on his head. Hyde told me where to go. When I found Hook, I saw that he made a new life for himself and decided it wouldn't be right to bring him in. End. Of. Story." It was Jim's turn to give Emma the devil stare.

Emma wasn't intimidated. "If you say so," she replied, clearly not satisfied. Emma called David and relayed everything they learned from Jasmine. Then she left, leaving Jim to finish his lunch alone.

The next day, they - plus Regina - returned to the circus in the afternoon. As promised, Jasmine was waiting for them at intermission outside her dressing room tent. In her hand was a single white feather from La Svengali’s headdress, plucked while La Svengali was waiting in the wings. Jasmine handed the feather to Emma, who passed it to Regina for a locator spell.

“Mr. Why and La Svengali have their own private dressing room,” Jasmine explained to them. “It's somewhere in the circus caravan, but we don’t see either of them between shows anymore.”

Killian raised an eyebrow “Not even for rehearsal?” he asked.

“The assistant director runs rehearsals,” Jasmine said. "La Svengali rehearses privately with Mr. Why."

“Why the feather?” David asked. “Can’t we just arrest him in the tent?”

Emma shook her head slightly. “He’s in complete control in there. There’s magic we probably don’t even know about. We fuck with him on his own turf and things could go south real quick,” she said. “We’ve got to corner him.”

"We've got one shot at this," Jim added. "If Nadir's right, and he's our only authority here, if we fuck up, Sven- I mean, _Mr. Why_ is gone."

“We're not taking any chances," said Emma. "Thank you, Jasmine. When we’ve got the Phantom in custody, we’ll come find you about Aladdin.”

Jasmine hurried back into the tent to change for the next act. “Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me,” she said, before vanishing behind the curtains.

Regina began working her magic on the feather, but Emma stopped her. “We have to wait till the show’s over. Otherwise, that feather’s gonna float straight back into the tent.”

And so they waited for an hour to pass by. After ten minutes of shuffling their feet, Killian and Jim were both growing bored. With permission from Emma, they left the others and wandered deeper into the carnival, promising to be back shortly. Jim looked around at all the performers, the exotic animals on display, and the fair food. Suddenly, he was in desperate need of a glazed scone.

”Come on!” Jim said to Killian, pulling on his coat. “I’ll split one with you.”

Killian groaned. “Fine. I’ll pay,” he relented.

”Really? You don't need to do that," Jim said.

“It’s not like you’ve got a ton of money to be throwing around,” Killian replied, making light of his own generosity.

Jim pushed ahead of him to the counter. "Actually, I do," Jim insisted. “I've got a sack of Ingarian royal dollars burning a hole through my coat. I'm buying."

Patiently, Jim stood next to Killian in line for concession. He awkwardly handed the cashier some money and received two scones on a paper plate. When he turned back to Killian, Jim couldn’t help flashing back to the times when Killian would have to order on his behalf. He was a socially anxious teen, even more anxious pretending not to be a couple. Killian was always so patient with Jim. He never took him too far out of his comfort zone. Well, except for one incidence that the carnival brought to mind.

"One for both of us," Jim said, presenting Killian with his scone. ”Do you remember Pleasure Island? Doesn’t all this take you back?”

”Aye, it does,” Killian replied with a smile. “I mentioned it to you on the ship, remember?”

”Right,” Jim said, feeling the mirth drain out of him. “I’m sorry about all that by the way. Really.”

Killian waved his hand to say, “Don’t worry about it." He looked around after finishing his treat. "Shame there’s no rides around,” he said, neglecting to mention the Ferris wheel spinning a short walk away.

Jim made a fuss as he swallowed his last bite. ”No. You’re not getting me on another of those goddamned rolling things,” Jim warned him. “Not after last time.”

“It’s not my fault you ate too much before riding Monstro,” was Killian’s retort. "You always had a sweet tooth."

Jim just gave Killian a light, playful punch to the shoulder. "And I see you're still a smartass. Hey, what's going on over there?" he asked, his attention darting past Killian's head.

He pointed to a short man dressed in wizard's robes. Killian hurriedly followed after Jim, who made his way to the front of a small crowd of people gathered around the magician. The man kept the crowd entertained while two assistants covered a large, domed cage with a white sheet.

"For my final trick, ladies and gentlemen, Pendragon the Magnificent will conjure into existence a bold new attraction straight from Kingsbury Square in Ingary!" he boasted. 

Jim had been to Kingsbury fairly recently. There wasn't a carnival ride in sight. The man must really be a wizard if he planned to transport an entire attraction from one world to another. With a few flicks of his wand, the sheet lit up from the inside. Through the illuminated fabric, the crowd could see that the cage had disappeared. They all lightly clapped, including Jim, surprised to find himself caught up in the action. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Killian, just letting him know where he was.

"Did you see that?" Jim asked him. "He made the whole cage vanish. The sheet's just floating there."

"Aye." Killian had seen a lot more magic than Jim in his day. Sadly, magic tricks didn't impress him much anymore.

The magician waved his wand again. The sheet began to change form. Spires poked up at the top. The shape of the dome became more complex and bulbous. The sheet began to turn counterclockwise. With a final flourish, lights burst forth and music swelled and, in a flash, the sheet turned to vapor revealing an ornate carousel already spinning in circles before them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Merry-Go-Round of Life!" proclaimed the wizard, before jumping down and opening a rope separating the audience from the attraction.

Jim was astounded. The pageantry, the machinery, the magic - it was all too much. "Wanna go for a ride?" asked Jim enthusiastically, instinctively taking Killian's hand. He remembered himself and blushed with embarrassment. He let Killian go.

"We're not kids anymore," said Killian, sadly.

Jim looked away for a second. They hadn't been kids for eighty years. Something brought it back out of Jim though. It was Killian, he realized. He felt much younger with him around. "For old times' sake?" Jim asked with a smile, pressing his luck.

Killian took one look at Jim's puppy dog eyes and couldn't find it within him to say no. They made their way to the halted carousel. Jim picked out a beautiful chestnut-colored stallion to ride. He looked behind him, half-expecting Killian to sit with him. Killian found his own horse behind him, black. It wasn't quite like old times.

The carousel took off and away they went. At first, it was a pleasant, nostalgic ride. Then Jim began to hear strange things against the intensifying music, voices from his past. They spoke into his ear as if they were hovering right behind his shoulder.

 _Carnivals and cotton candy,_  
_Carousels and calliopes_ ,  
_Fortune-tellers in glass cases_  
_We will always remember these._  
_Merry-go-rounds quickly turning,_  
_Quickly turning for you and me_  
_And the whole world madly turning_  
_Turning, turning 'till you can't see..._

 _"Your father... he's not coming back, sweetheart."_ Mom? Jim heard a boy begin to cry.

 _"I promise I'll make you proud, Mom."_  It was Jim's own voice. _"Just come back in one piece, all right?_ " Definitely Mom. They were standing at the dock.

 _"Watch where you're going, mate! Haven't you ever been on a ship before?"_  It was the exact moment he met Killian.

 _"So what are you going to do with your cut of the treasure?"_  Jim said to Killian on their last day on the island, wearing little more than a smile.

 _"I don't need your approval." "Good. You're better off that way."_ It was Silver, the first time he left. He hopped in his lifeboat and sailed away.

The ride seemed to pick up speed. As the world around him blurred, Jim found himself drifting in and out of scenes from his life. They floated ghostlike through him. Each was like an out-of-body experience. They left as quickly as they came, leaving Jim dizzy and haunted, burdening him with every emotion - every high and low.

Fireworks exploded above a Ferris wheel. _"Have you ever seen anything that beautiful in your entire life?" "Almost every day,"_ said Killian, right before they kissed.

Two men hung from the Porthaven gallows. " _Another couple of deviants. Freaks like them make me sick."_

In the privacy of their dormitory at Eton, Jim said, " _People are talking, Killy. Today, it's just jokes, but tomorrow... I don't want to ruin your future. I'm dropping out."_

They met in their secret place in the woods. Killian presented Jim with an earring. " _Pirates call it a matelotage. It's a commitment ceremony of sorts." "Like a marriage?"_

Killian held Jim’s hand in his old bedroom. _"It's a long journey to Neverland. I don't know when we'll be back. I'm sorry, love. You know I hate to keep you waiting."_

Jim sat by his mother’s bedside. " _I want you to be happy, but I also want you to be safe. The last thing I want is you losing your life over this boy."_

Long John Silver, half-drunk and gambling away his gold, dropped the bombshell. _"Jones is dead, son. Both of 'em. Killed in action by a pirate named Captain Hook."_

The Dark One found him just outside Pleasure Island. _"Hook, you say? Well, dearie, I may be able to help you after all."_

When he finally reached Neverland, Pan told him, _“He’s not here. He’s off in some other world, one you’ll never be able to reach.”_

Jim returned to Kingsbury after decades of searching.  _"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Hawkins. Dorian Gray, at your service."_

Hyde and Jim conversed at the asylum. " _They called him Hook. He would have made quite a bounty for you, but he and the others disappeared back to Storybrooke."_

Jim found Nadir at his favorite coffeehouse. _"You said your guy is working with Hyde, right? I know exactly where they're going."_

That fateful night aboard the Jolly Roger. _"Killian?" "Jim."_

They say, when you die, your life flashes before your eyes. Was this it? Was he finally dying? No, as it turns out. The carousel at last came to a stop. The real world faded back in. Jim staggered off and braced himself over a waste bin. He was determined not to be sick. Not this time. Not on a fucking merry-go-round.

"You all right, mate?" asked Killian behind him, placing his hand on his shoulder.

Jim jumped out of his skin. "What the hell was that?" Jim gasped, out of air. "Did you see all that? What did you see? Tell me I'm not the only one who saw... Just tell me it wasn't just me!"

Killian looked away at all the other people - mostly children and their parents - getting off the ride. They were all so joyful, recounting happy memories with each other. Jim looked too and listened. There was seldom a sad face. It wasn't just Jim then.

"What did you see?" Jim asked Killian, his stomach settling.

"You know, mostly just the fun stuff," Killian began sardonically. "Being sold to Captain Flint by my father, ten solid years of slavery with pirates, the mutiny, two years of destitute living with Liam... meeting you. I've gotta say, things were a hell of a lot better after I met you. I've lived a long time. There was seldom a time I was that happy."

Jim smiled, straightening up his spine. "Same," he said warmly. He looked back at the carousel. More people were getting on. "This ride's probably meant for children."

"And well-adjusted grownups," Killian added with a sad sort of smile.

Returning to the group, they could hear the end of La Svengali's aria. Both Jim and Emma took glances into the tent to see Jasmine's signal during the applause. La Svengali's final high note ended. Her vibrato could be felt all the way outside. The crowd stood to their feet and cheered. La Svengali and Mr. Why took several bows, annoying those waiting outside. Finally, they left. Jim could see Jasmine on the inside still bowing. She looked directly at them and nodded her head. "Now!" she meant to say.

"Regina, go!" Jim and Emma said together. They looked at each other uncomfortably for having said the same thing. "Jinx," said Jim with a smirk.

Purple-colored magic energy surrounded the feather. "Not quite a jinx," Regina explained. "More like a charm." Regina held the feather in her hands and blew on it, sending it flying into the air. The feather began floating away, leaving a trail of violet magic sparks in its wake.

“Let’s go!” Emma ordered. “Don’t lose sight of that thing!”

The five of them chased after it, careful not to let the small, thin object out of their sight. The feather drifted through the carnival, through tents and over crates. It took keen eyes and some mild acrobatic skill to pursue, but Jim, Emma, and Killian were on top of it. David and Regina were close behind as they chased the feather homing in on its target. Finally, it came to a stop, stuck like a dart in a wooden wall.

“The props wagon?” Killian read, looking around the side.

“It’s not the props wagon,” Jim assessed. “Whatever it is, it’s not what it appears.”

Emma grabbed hold of the doorknob. Locked. It was a sturdy door too. Emma might not be able to blast it open. The room was also very small, at least on the exterior. She could risk injuring someone, although an injured Phantom would be easier to catch.

“I don’t know how to unlock doors with magic,” Emma admitted.

Regina scoffed. “I have spell books you can borrow, you know,” she said, taking her place. She held her hand as if she was turning the knob. Her fingertips glowed purple. Jim heard something unlatch. “Bingo. Ready?”

“Remember. Hand at the level of your eyes,” Jim instructed, feeling for his pistol then electing to draw his sword. Killian, David, and Emma all drew their guns. Regina readied her magic and flung open the door.

They rushed into the dressing room in a sweeping attack. La Svengali, in her corset, screamed and hid behind a curtain, losing her wig in the process. The bright blonde curls fell away, revealing messy, dirty blonde locks underneath. The enchanted feather rejoined its mates in her headdress lying on the floor. Someone else was rummaging around from behind a partition. Emma aimed her gun their way. Mr. Why emerged after a moment wearing a basic domino mask, only half dressed. He had clearly put the mask back on before attempting to put on a shirt.

“Who are you? What are you doing in here?” Mr. Why demanded, standing between them and the terrified La Svengali, who had draped herself in the folds of her dress.

Emma showed Mr. Why her badge. “Erik Svengali, you’re under arrest,” she informed him.

“Nadir sends his regards,” quipped Jim behind her. He stabbed his sword into the doorframe, blocking Mr. Why's escape.

Mr. Why was indignant about the whole affair. "Arrest? On what grounds?" he demanded, more affronted than afraid.

Jim cleared his throat. "Let's see. Murder, extortion, kidnapping... the usual," he said, echoing Nadir’s list of transgressions.

Emma scoffed at Jim's lack of professionalism. Guns were drawn. This was no time to joke. "You're also charged with aiding and abetting suspects charged with burglary, larceny, assault..."

"Vampirism," Killian added. Jim chuckled, giving Killian permission to take pleasure in his own joke.

Emma couldn't help but roll her eyes. Someone had to be the adult in the room. "You're coming with us. Regina?" Emma called.

Regina stepped forward and waved her hand. A pair of shackles wrapped themselves around Mr. Why's hands. He stumbled back in shock, slipping and landing ass first on the floor. Emma nearly reached down and tore off his mask, but Jim stopped her.

"Let Nadir do it," Jim said. "He's been hunting this guy a lot longer than we have. He deserves it."

Emma reluctantly agreed. "Dad, get him in the car," she said, stowing her gun away.

David got behind Mr. Why and led him out of the room. ”Sorry to bust in on you like this, ma’am,” David said to La Svengali. She was still rattled by their sudden intrusion. “If it’s any consolation, we really enjoyed the show.” The poor woman was too stunned to speak. David then proceeded to read Mr. Why his rights as he led him away.

After Mr. Why was securely settled in the back of David's car, David and Emma climbed into the front and drove off. The plan was to interrogate him tomorrow with Nadir. They needed his knowledge.

Jim watched them drive away with Killian and Regina. Regina excused herself and left for home. She had missed a lot of time with Henry helping them catch Svengali. Mr. Why. All these fucking names. Not that Jim was really one to talk these days. Jim and Killian just stood around, unsure what they ought to do next.

"I guess we could investigate, see what we can scrounge up," Killian suggested. His tone told Jim that he really didn't feel like it.

"Or, we could always ride the Ferris wheel instead," said Jim, really pushing his luck.

Killian grit his teeth. "I don't think so, mate," he declined. "This doesn't seem like the time."

"I promise not to throw up," Jim jested, disappointed. He sighed. "I should probably get home anyway and check on Nadir."

"What do you do when you're not... hunting pirates and other miscreants?" Killian asked, beginning to walk down the sidewalk toward the fair's exit.

Jim followed him. "I've been doing a lot of reading lately," he said. "I just finished a book Belle loaned me from the library."

"Anything good?" asked Killian.

Jim wasn't sure he should say. Fuck it. He might as well. " _Peter and_ _Wendy_ by J.M. Barrie. Ring any bells?"

"Why'd you want to read that nonsense?" Killian stopped and asked, suspicious of Jim's intentions. Why did Jim have to go and say that? Everything was actually pleasant for a moment.

"Just wanted some answers is all," Jim replied. "I read my book too. You're nowhere in it."

Killian kept walking. "Maybe that's for the best," he said glumly.

At the end of the sidewalk, they reached the exit and it was time to part ways. "I don't suppose you'd want to grab a drink down at The Rabbit Hole?" Jim offered.

Killian shook his head no. "If you do go, say hello to Jefferson for me. Haven't seen him in a few days."

Jim had completely forgotten about Jefferson. At some point, he'd need to go tell him his real name and explain all the confusion. That would be an embarrassingly low moment for him. He was a bit sweet on him before Killian came back into the picture.

"Will do," said Jim. It wasn't much of a goodbye, but those were the last words said between them as they parted company.

On the way back to Granny's, Jim thought about stopping in for a quick drink, but he decided against it. He didn't want to face Jefferson right now. He had rum back in his room anyway. Jim wasn't even sure he felt like drinking. He wasn't particularly sad or angry or even lonely. He was hollow.

His last conversation with Killian had been such a meaningless void that it left him barren. Jim wished that made him sad. Was he moving on or was he losing his final remnant of himself? It didn't really matter one way or the other.

When Jim returned, he paid a visit to Nadir and Darius. He told them that Svengali had been arrested and taken to the police station. Tomorrow, Emma would come pick them up so Nadir could guide the interrogation. Though he was tired, the news that Svengali had been apprehended put a smile on his face.

"I've been trying for years," said Nadir. "How did you make it so easy?"

Jim shrugged. "A little magic and the element of surprise," Jim joked. "He really shouldn't have put up that carnival. It led us right to him. Must not have expected you were coming."

"He always expects me," Nadir told him sleepily. "I live inside his mind."

"Something tells me that it's mutual," Jim said to him. "Get some sleep. We need you alert tomorrow."

Jim turned to go, but Darius stopped him in the hallway. "You never came and got me," Darius told him sadly. "I was supposed to go with you today."

"There were too many guns and too little space, Dar," Jim explained, almost as tired as Nadir was. "You can come with us tomorrow for the unmasking."

That cheered the kid up a bit. Darius went back to tend to Nadir and Jim descended the stairs to his tiny apartment, slightly bigger without Darius lazing about. Jim showered and put on some pajamas. He poured himself a nightcap.

For moment, he thought about cracking open one of the books Darius left behind. He remembered the Storybook. Belle said Henry had it. Jim couldn't quite shake the feeling that Killian hadn't been completely honest with him. "Maybe I'm just projecting," Jim wondered, considering all the half-truths and omissions he'd been making recently. Still, he'd like to get his hands on that book. He didn't want J.M. Barrie's version. He wanted the truth.

The next day, Jim, Nadir, and Darius were driven down to the police station by Emma. Nadir adamantly refused to leave without a disguise, even though Svengali had been securely captured. They managed to locate the Invisible Man’s wardrobe in the field outside Snow and David’s house earlier – a trench coat, fedora, scarf, and sunglasses. The articles were still in Emma's trunk. The outfit seemed like overkill, perhaps even more conspicuous than regular clothes. Recovery from the blood loss may have impaired Nadir’s thinking just a bit.

Jim escorted him and Darius, who was dressed completely normally, into the interrogation room where the masked man was sitting. David and Killian were waiting inside for them and Emma. In the hot seat sat Svengali, his arms cuffed behind him. All three were silent as the grave. The chair opposite him was empty. Jim pulled it out for Nadir to sit.

“We thought you should do the honors,” Jim said to his friend, happy to see him on his feet and in his element again.

Nadir removed his lenses. “What honors?” he asked.

“You know, the unmasking?” Jim said, directing his attention to Svengali handcuffed beside them. He had been given an old buttoned shirt to wear, but the mask was still firmly in place. “It’s like a ‘get well soon’ present. Come on! You’ve been chasing this creep for years! And I wanna see how his ugly his mug really is.” Jim grinned in the hope Nadir would get more excited.

Nadir didn’t laugh, but he did breathe a little harder out his nose. "Trust me, my friend. You do not." He turned to Svengali, examining the man in the mask with a critical eye. He didn’t say a word as he strode over to him and ripped the mask clean off his face. Underneath was a dark-featured man, neither very handsome nor very ugly, who bore little to no resemblance to the repulsive, skeletal creature Nadir described.

"That's it?" Jim blurted out, disappointed by the reveal.

Nadir turned to them all. “This is not Erik Svengali,” Nadir assessed, clearly disappointed.

Everyone in the room groaned. Darius was so let down, he left the room. Back to the drawing board, it seemed. Maybe they could still extract something valuable from the imposter before throwing him behind bars. They sure as hell couldn’t release him with the real Svengali still on the loose.

“If he’s not Svengali or the Phantom or whatever the hell else, then who the bloody hell is he?” Killian begged.

Nadir pointed at the strange man, eyeing him carefully. A spark of recognition flashed in his eyes. “I know this man. This is one of the Romani performers Svengali hired before he left Paris. So, now he has you pretending to be him, eh? Too busy to star in his own show?” Nadir took his seat, his intrigue outweighing his disappointment.

Emma circled around. “If you’re not the Phantom, then who the fuck are you?” she snapped.

“Can we stick to a name? Please!” Jim cried. "Svengali! The Phantom! I don't care. Just pick one!" He grabbed at his hair in frustration, which made him need to retie his ponytail.

The stranger ignored Jim's histrionics. “My name is Clopin,” the man told them. “Mr. Why gave me a significant raise to take his place during performances.”

Emma and David both crossed their arms. “And why didn't you tell us that while we were busy arresting you?” demanded Emma.

"It was a very significant raise," said Clopin, implying that his duties followed him outside the circus tent.

"So Erik wants us to think he's busy with his little side show while he's off making trouble. How unpredictably predictable," Nadir commented. "Surely, if he trusted you with running his operation in his stead, you must know where he's sequestered himself."

Despite Nadir's penetrating gaze and Emma's uncompromising stance, Clopin seemed unaffected. “How should I know?” he replied innocently.

Nadir took full control of the conversation. “Svengali wouldn’t trust anyone if they weren’t providing regular reports. I know he isn’t coming to _you_ ,” he said with fervor. “So, _where is he?_ ”

Clopin laughed. “Where was he the last time you saw him?” Clopin answered cryptically, with a slight tilt of his head. “I know who you are, Daroga. He warned me you would come.”

Nadir nearly laughed as well. “I doubt this town has an opera house,” Nadir shot back, unamused by how clever Clopin must have thought he was.

“No,” David interjected, stepping out of the corner. “But we do have a theatre.”

They all looked back to Clopin, who shrugged with an impish smirk. “La Svengali has a singing engagement there this Saturday. If you really want to, you can find him there. I’d be careful if I were you. Mr. Why is not all that he appears.”

Nadir leaned down to Clopin’s eye level. “Believe me. I know,” he growled. "This conversation is over."

“Wait. What are we going to do with him?” asked Killian. “We let him go, he’ll go rat us out to the Phantom. We keep him here, then he’s sure to know something's wrong.” Killian had a point. Clopin was Svengali's right hand man. No matter what they did, the Phantom would know.

”I could help you catch him... for the right price,” Clopin slyly suggested. “The carnival isn’t going to last much longer, not now that Mr. Why and La Svengali are here in this world. He's planning to shut down the circus and abandon us. Soon we’ll have nothing. Again. I’ll gladly hand him over for a bit of _financial security._ ”

They all looked at each other. Who held the purse strings to make him an offer? More importantly, how could they even trust this man?

”Do we trust him?” Jim asked, trying to read Clopin's exceptionally average face.

Nadir stood and informed them that people like Clopin were not to be trusted, calling him a name that by his inflection Jim knew was a slur. Clopin glowered. Jim knew what it was like to have a word hurled at him like that. This told him a lot about Clopin's life without him having to say a word. Jim liked Nadir a little less after that, and he trusted Clopin a little bit more.

“ _Racism aside_ ,” Emma said with contempt in her voice, “we can’t keep him here. He needs to keep doing the show. Someone has to keep an eye on him though. If he wants that paycheck, he’ll agree.”

Clopin scowled. “Fine. I also want a promise of employment for the performers. I will not allow my people to starve.” They agreed. “We have a deal then. Now will you please release me so I can get our star ready for her big performance?”

David took it upon himself to be Clopin's full-time guard. He'd have to be discreet to avoid alerting La Svengali, who they would try to convince that the arrest was all a misunderstanding. Emma pulled an ankle bracelet out of a cabinet in her office. She slapped it on Clopin's ankle. He tried to remove it to no avail.

"If you run, we'll know where to find you," she informed him. "If you go alert the Phantom, you'll lead us straight there."

Clopin wriggled his foot around, trying to get used to it. "Understood," he said unpleasantly.

After that, David took him back to the carnival. Before leaving, Clopin gave them the exact time of La Svengali's recital at the Storybrooke Community Theatre. Jim sat down next to Darius, who was very put out that they had failed to apprehend The Phantom.

"Hey, look at it this way," Jim said to him, "maybe you'll actually be there when we catch him for real." Darius smiled a bit.

Emma gave Nadir and Darius a ride back to Granny's. Jim would have gone with them, but Killian asked Jim to stay behind. When Emma asked why, Killian told her that he wanted to show Jim that there weren't any hard feelings.

They were going out for a drink to attempt to iron things out. He hoped that he and Jim might actually be able to be friends. Lord knows Killian needed more friends. This was all technically true, so Emma took him at his word and left. Jim, however, was more skeptical.

"I'm serious. I'm really sorry how we ended things yesterday," Killian said earnestly, in the privacy of an alley. "It was a bit awkward. More than a bit, really. I don't want things between us to be awkward like that, not after everything we've been through."

"Me neither," agreed Jim, who was glad that the empty feeling he'd been left with wasn’t just his imagination. "I know we're not being totally honest about our relationship here - what else is new, really - but it's never been this weird before. Of course, back then we were still together."

"And there was never a third party involved," Killian noted. Emma. The crux of all Jim's woes. "I really am sorry. I'd like us to try to be friends, if that's all right with you."

Jim smiled. "I'd like that," he answered genuinely. Maybe that would be possible. Maybe that would be enough.

"Why don't you come over to the ship? We can have a drink and just talk like ordinary people," Killian offered. He pointed to the mast of _The Jolly Roger_ in the distance.

"That sounds nice," said Jim pleasantly.

He and Killian strolled down the street together. He turned to look at Killian, who was acting a bit dodgy. Something told Jim that Killian wasn't quite comfortable being seen alone with him. He'd seen that look many times before. All these years and Killian was still scared.

"You're a pirate, for god's sake. Why are you acting like we're still a couple of teenagers?" Jim asked him pointedly. "We're not even together anymore." 

"I really don't know," Killian said, realizing how silly he was being. "Old habits die hard, I suppose. When I'm with you, it's like I’m seventeen again, with all the good and bad that entails."

Jim decided to accept that as an answer. He felt very much the same way. It was sweet, and also sad. They got to the ship and Jim sat out on the deck while Killian fixed them both a drink. The sun rising on the water was beautiful. With a little imagination, Jim could pretend it was sunset and the sun was moving the other way. This water deserved a proper sunset. Killian returned and handed Jim his drink. Rum. Same old Killian. 

"Isn't it a little early to be drinking?" asked Jim, smelling the rum in his glass.

"It's never too early on a pirate ship," Killian returned. They toasted together and took a drink.

Jim looked out over the water and sighed. He looked back to Killian. It was the first time Killian had given him real, sustained eye contact. He wasn't anxious on his ship, looking over his shoulder. This was the Killian he remembered, happiest with the sun on his face and a drink in his hand. For once, they were at peace, but Jim was sure that would end the second their feet touched land again.

"Penny for your thoughts?" said Killian, taking another sip. 

“Well, I have been doing some thinking lately," Jim began. "About us. You left the navy for noble reasons. I can respect that. And you stayed away for my safety. I can't say I like that decision, but I guess I understand it. I’ll admit, I don’t know how I would have reacted to you becoming a pirate, no matter how noble your intentions were.”

”You made it very clear what you thought of them,” said Killian, looking down at the deck. “I hated the idea of you thinking that of me.”

Jim continued on. “I know you weren't the one to spread the story that you were the one who killed you. You know what I mean. It’s not your fault I was misinformed. It’s also reasonable for you to assume that I’d be dead by now and you have every right to move on.

”Maybe I can understand why you thought I'd be better off without you. It wasn't true, not by a long shot, but still. But now I’m here and you’re here and we're together again and... I don't know...” Jim trailed off, afraid of sounding foolish.

Once again, out of nowhere, Jim began to weep. When did he become such a mess? Jim never cried. Something within him cracked when he saw Killian again. Flood gates opened and they might not ever close.

Before he knew it, he felt Killian's arms enfolding him and his hand comfortingly rubbing his back. Killian was finally in his arms again after countless lonely, grief-stricken years. Jim was overcome by a crash of unbridled sorrow and infinite joy. Killian was alive. Jim sank into his embrace. His ship had come into harbor at last. Jim was at complete peace.

“Jim? You all right, mate?” Killian asked softly.

“Yeah,” Jim answered, sniffling. “I’m all right. I just can’t believe it’s you. It’s been so long. _Too_ long. You have no idea how much I missed you.”

The way Killian's beard bristled against his skin told Jim that he was smiling. "I missed you too," Killian said. "Every time I saw fireworks in the sky or found a shell buried in the sand, I thought of you and how much you'd have liked it if you were there." 

"I wish I had been. Why didn't you come back for me?" Jim sobbed. "I still don't understand."

"There was no coming back from what I did. I couldn't let you see what I'd become," Killian answered. "And you'd be choosing a life you could never come back from either."

"I already did when I chose you. You had to know I loved you a thousand times more than I hated pirates. There isn't a single thing you could have done to make me love you any less," Jim told him with a sniffle. "I must have told you a million times. I'd go to the ends of the earth just to make you smile."

Killian's fingers found their way to Jim's ponytail. "Would you really have come with me, left your mother behind and everything?" Killian asked, instinctively playing with Jim's hair. "In the long run, the only place we'd have been free was on _The Jolly Roger._ The navy wasn't safe. Neither was land. It's almost what we had planned on, except for the whole pirate thing."

Jim bit his lip. "I don't know. A decision like that could have torn me in half," said Jim. "You're right though. Pirates were the only people who would have tolerated degenerates like us. I couldn't leave Mom though. Maybe there's no way we could have stayed together back then." 

Jim tightened his arms around Killian’s frame. Killian adjusted his arms to hold Jim tighter too. Jim then sat back and looked at Killian, wiping his nose and examining every feature.

“What?” asked Killian as he felt Jim's eyes exploring his face. "What is it?"

Jim took his hand. “Nothing, I just needed to look at you,” Jim told him tenderly. He placed his hands on Killian's shoulders. “I’m trying to convince myself that you’re actually real. You’re even more beautiful than I remember.”

And without another word, Jim cradled Killian's face in his hands and drew him into a kiss. Killian knew he ought to resist him, but after all this time, he had forgotten exactly how sweet Jim's lips tasted and how soft they were. He had to kiss him, if only to regain that precious memory.

Killian succumbed to Jim's advances and kissed him harder. They were both immediately transported back to that moment atop the Ferris wheel, when Killian kissed him and said “I love you” for the very first time. It wasn’t until Killian felt Jim’s tongue touching his that he found the will to break the kiss.

“No! Jim, stop!” Killian protested, pushing Jim away. “We can’t do this! This isn't right. I’m with Emma now. I can't be unfaithful to her. I just can't.”

Jim soothingly stroked Killian's face. “Killy, relax. Emma will understand. We both thought we had lost each other forever. You dealt with it by trying to move on. I dealt with it by…”

“By hitching a ride on a submarine to murder an old pirate?” Killian finished.

“We all process grief differently," Jim said glibly. "The point is, we’re together again. The past isn’t important. The only things that matter are now and us. Emma’s tough. She'll get over it.”

Killian cast Jim an uneasy glance. He leaned further away. "Are you asking me to leave Emma?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "For you?"

Jim felt a chill up his spine. Was that really where this was going? "Well, when you put it like that... I guess I am. But you're not leaving her for just anybody," Jim answered, trying to maintain his confidence. "It's me. Don’t worry about before. What matters is the future, _our future_."

"You're right. You aren't just anybody," said Killian. Jim leaned in for another kiss, but Killian held him back. Killian’s face became very tight and very still, trying to find the right words. “But Emma isn't just anyone either. Jim, I know this isn't easy for you to hear, but Emma is my future. I love her - more than I've ever loved anyone."

"Even me?" asked Jim brokenly. Killian avoided his eyes. There was little else Jim could say. He'd been rejected by the one person from whom he expected unconditional, everlasting love. "You mean it?" Jim said sadly, in utter disbelief. This couldn't be happening. "Killy, it's me. It's Jim."

"This isn't any easier for me than it is for you," Killian said, eyes shut to avoid Jim's devastated face. "I'm sorry. I know this isn't what you must have hoped for, but it's just the way things are."

Jim was incensed. "No! You do not get to say that after everything I've been through, all the searching and fighting and dead ends only to end up with nothing!" Jim exploded. "You get to live happily ever after with this new woman. I don't even get the satisfaction of killing Captain Hook, the one thing that gave me any sense of purpose. You had to go and ruin that for me by being alive.”

Jim got up and started pacing. “I always imagined that if by some miracle you were still alive, we'd pick up right where we left off, but I guess that’s out of the question too. So that's it, isn't it? What else is there to say?"

Killian reached out to Jim, but Jim stepped further away. "To answer your question from the last time we were here, no, I really don't think it was worth it. That Ishmael guy was right. I should have never even come here," Jim angrily rambled as he searched for a way off the boat.

"I should have just accepted you were dead. But I didn't, because I thought you died loving me, something only you seemed capable of. I should have known even that was too good to be true."

"Jim! Stop!" Killian called out, leaning over the railing. “Please, come back. Let’s talk out.”

Jim shook his head. “You know,” Jim said, looking up at him, “Silver was right. Captain Hook really did kill Killian Jones.”

With that, Jim left Hook speechless. He watched Jim storm away toward Main Street. He could have run after him, but he didn't want to make a scene. There was no reasoning with him. He’d only make Jim more angry.

Dread spread throughout Killian's body, weighing him down as he thought of what Jim might do next. Would he take revenge by letting Emma know the truth? Killian didn't think he could bear it. Or maybe Jim would do what he came there to do in the first place. Lord knows, after what he did, Killian had it coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The Merry-Go-Round of Life" is the theme song from 'Howl's Moving Castle'. Howl's realm, Ingary, is my substitute for the more generic Land of Untold Stories. More elements of 'Howl's Moving Castle' will find their way into the story in later chapters.
> 
> The actual music played by the carousel in this chapter is "Carousel" from 'Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris".
> 
> The songs in Mr. Why's "World Without Magic" medley are "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga, "Sweet Dreams" by The Eurhythmics, "Don't You Want Me?" by The Human League, "Toxic" by Britney Spears, and "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell. It was inspired by a similar medley featured in the stage adaptation of 'Moulin Rouge!' La Svengali sings a segment of “Never Enough” from 'The Greatest Showman'. The finale is “If We Only Have Love”, also by Jacques Brel.


	10. The Svengali Defense

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim pulls himself together long enough to help the others catch the Phantom AKA Mr. Why AKA Erik Svengali during La Svengali's performance at the Storybrooke Community Theatre. 
> 
> WARNING: This chapter deals with Jim having suicidal thoughts.

Jim stormed down Main Street looking ready to murder someone. Crowds of people parted for him on the sidewalk, frightened by his glare as it hid more burgeoning tears. Jim wiped them away with his sleeve.

No one was going to see him cry, especially not over a bastard like Killian. How did he allow himself to center his entire existence on a man like him? Had everything been a lie from the start? Every sweet word Killian ever said to him?

Jim flung open the door to Granny's, ringing the bell. Ruby was there waiting tables. "Oh hi, Jim!" she greeted. Jim breezed right past her. "Nice to see you too," she said sarcastically, wondering what crawled up his ass and died.

When Jim reached his room, he fumbled with the keys, his hands shaking with rage. He dropped them and swore loudly. Fortunately, no one was around to hear him. Jim managed to unlock the door and slammed it shut behind him. Then, without even thinking, Jim punched a hole straight through the wall. He hissed in pain. His knuckles bled.

"I guess I'll have to pay to fix that," he grumbled. He hurried to the bathroom to clean off his hand. 

Jim ran his fingers under the water in the sink. Skin was peeling around some of the cuts. It stung as he picked at the loose skin. Jim looked up and got a good look at his face in the mirror.

His eyes were blood red. He wasn't aware of just how heavily he'd been breathing until he saw his chest rise and fall hard like a bellows. He sniffed. He could barely breathe through his nose. Jim took off his coat and bandaged his hand. How could he have been that stupid?

_"You really need to work on your impulse control, love. I can't be around to rein you in all the time."_

"Shut up!" Jim screamed at an imaginary, much younger Killian. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" 

Jim tore off his shoes and tossed them at the wall. It was true though. Killian had been the greater part of Jim's impulse control all throughout their relationship. Without Killian around, Jim might do something really stupid... like magically prolong his life to spend seventy years hunting a pirate he'd never even met.

He grabbed a pillow and screamed as loudly as he could into it, rolling over onto the bed. He flailed his legs like a child. When he was all tired out from kicking and screaming, Jim lied limply on the bed, sprawled out like a starfish.

It was really over. Killian threw him away like yesterday's trash. And for what? Some woman he believes would leave him if she knew who he really was? What kind of love is that? Killian didn't have to be anything for Jim. He just had to be there. Now he wasn't and he never would be again.

Jim was kidding himself when he thought, however briefly, that they could simply be friends. It took all of five minutes alone with Killian for Jim to try sticking his tongue into his mouth. How could they be casual acquaintances after all the intimacy they shared?

_"I want your love. I don't want to be friends."_

Jim hummed. Great. On top of everything else, now he was going to have that stupid song stuck in his head. Jim sat up and sighed, his knuckles still burning.

Killian wanted it too, though. Jim might have moved just a little too fast for him, but Killian kissed him back for a not-insignificant amount of time. Maybe he really did love Emma, but something inside of him still had feelings for Jim. That kiss meant something. It must have.

Jim got up and took another look at himself in the mirror. He looked a bit more stable. Still, he had to ask himself, "Would this really be worth fighting for?" Could he really win Killian back and, if so, why should he?

Killian was treating him like crap, in the nicest way possible, of course. It was all because of Emma. He wouldn't be treating Jim like a dirty little secret if he wasn't petrified of losing her. For all he knew, Killian's fears might be justified. Storybrooke clearly wasn't the sort of town to string anybody up, but there were still a lot of closed-minded people in the world. Jim turned back to the mirror.

"What does that bitch have that I don't?" Jim wondered. Aside from some anatomical differences, not much.

Emma was beautiful, sure, but Jim lost count of the time Killian spent waxing lyrical about his looks. She was quick-witted, but so was Jim. They both had similarly dry, pointed senses of humor. Jim always knew that Killian had a taste for women that Jim didn't. It didn't bother him because he knew that Killian's heart was his. That wasn't the case anymore.

Killian's heart moved on, leaving Jim in the dust. It didn't matter how or why. The differences didn't matter. Jim wasn't Emma. He might as well be a complete stranger while standing next to her. Jim knew what it was like to be Killian's sun, moon, and stars.

As pointless as it would have been to try to tear Killian from Jim then, it would be equally pointless trying to tear him away from Emma now. That's how powerful and stubborn his heart was. Even if there were some lingering feelings for Jim, that revenant couldn't hope to outweigh what Killian felt for Emma. 

So Jim resigned him to his loss. He crawled into bed and cried himself to sleep. For the next few days, Jim lied in bed, only getting up to eat or use the bathroom. He couldn’t stand to be awake or standing any longer than necessary. Every time he opened his eyes, despair washed over him like the tide and he wasn’t sure he’d ever smile again. His entire reason for living had abandoned him.

 

* * *

 

Sometime during Jim's depression, the Queen and Mr. Hyde were both pacing about the study in the Sorcerer's Mansion. They were waiting for a report from Miss Poole. She was down in the mansion's basement conferring with Dr. Jekyll, who they'd had chained up and put to work synthesizing new serums to test.

"What is taking her so long?" the Queen griped, growing more impatient by the minute.

"He wanted to eat again," Hyde said flatly, sublimating his own growing impatience. "We can't risk him starving to death, now can we?"

The Queen scowled. "He might work faster if you threatened him with it."

"As entertaining as that sounds, we can't risk sloppy work. I only have so many subjects left, you know," said Hyde. "Poor Bertha. I really thought I could help her. What's that saying about broken eggs?"

The Queen was about to describe the process of making an omelet when Miss Poole entered the room, spine straight as an arrow. "I have the Doctor's latest serum, sir," she said, holding aloft a vial full of blue fluid. "Would you like to test it out now or wait till later?"

Hyde smiled. "Now would be best. We'll need someone a bit heartier than Mrs. Rochester, I'm afraid. Bring me Alonso. Would you, dear? That man can withstand just about anything."

"Where have you been keeping your test subjects?" asked the Queen curiously.

"At the hospital, comatose, until we need them," said Hyde. "Miss Poole's been volunteering there as a cover in case one of them needs to make an _unexpected recovery._ "

Miss Poole left and returned an hour later with a wiry-haired, scraggly man in a hospital gown. He was talking to Miss Poole as if they were good friends and she humored him with a forced smile. She gently helped him into a chair in front of Hyde's desk. Hyde assisted Miss Poole in securing the man, Alonso, in his seat by means of a straitjacket. Miss Poole gave a look of disgust once he'd been secured.

Hyde explained to the Queen, "This one was just infrequently sane enough to know where we were taking him, so I'm afraid we had to take some additional measures to keep him quiet and happy on the journey."

"He thinks I'm his granddaughter," Miss Poole added with a sneer, securing his feet. "Shall we wake him up?"

The Queen smiled, curious and impressed. "Assigning new identities, twisting memories around... That's a game I know well. Who did you have to kill?"

"No one, at least not for this," said Hyde, withdrawing something small from his front pocket. "One of my associates, Erik Svengali, was able to accomplish it through hypnosis. Here, let's get a look at the real Alonso."

Hyde handed Miss Poole a tiny green bottle. To the Queen's eye, it appeared to be ordinary smelling salts. Miss Poole unscrewed the cap and held the bottle directly beneath Alonso's nose. His face began a journey from pleasantly dotty to contorted in disgust, finally reaching abject fear as Svengali's trance wore off.

"Where am I?" asked Alonso, looking at the three unfriendly faces surrounding him. He pulled at the sleeves of his straitjacket. "Why am I in these restraints? What have you done with me this time?” Alonso wriggled around back and forth in the chair, trying in vain to break free. He hissed in pain as a sedative needle pierced his skin. "Help! Someone help me!"

"There, there," said Hyde soothingly. "There's no need to get upset. You're with friends, Alonso. You've just had a little nap. That's all. Now we’re going to continue with your treatment."

"Please, let me go! I don't need anymore help from you!" Alonso cried, terrified by his current predicament. "I... Please, let me go. He's gone. You've cured me, I swear."

The Queen examined the quickly calming Alonso. "He doesn't seem that crazy to me," the Queen observed. "Just a little rattled."

"Trust me, my dear. Mr. Quijana may not seem like much now, but it takes very little to trigger his delusional episodes," Hyde told her. Miss Poole handed him the serum. "When the serum kicks in, then you'll see. This one is as mad as a hatter."

Hyde was just about to inject Alonso with Jekyll's new serum when the front door of the mansion burst open, slamming against the wall. Heavy footsteps stormed across the atrium toward the study. The man outside began to yell, his voice carrying throughout the building.

"Jekyll! Get out here! What the hell did you do to me?!" It was Jefferson. "Jekyll! We need to talk! NOW!"

The Queen looked at Hyde with disdain. "You just had to say it," said the Queen, transforming her clothes into something the regular Regina might wear. "Let me handle Jefferson. He cannot see this." With a snap of her fingers, Mr. Hyde turned back into Dr. Jekyll. Hyde shuddered at the feeling of being back inside Jekyll's body.

"What about him?" asked Hyde, referring to Alonso, all the while Jefferson howled outside their door.

"Miss Poole can take care of him," hissed the Queen before putting on a fake smile. "Now come with me and agree with everything I say."

Hyde indignantly and reluctantly followed her to meet Jefferson. When they saw him, it was worse than they feared. His clothes were disheveled. His stubble had grown well past an attractive length. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. He was maniacally pacing, demanding that Jekyll come out of hiding and help him. Jefferson caught sight of Hyde in Jekyll's form and hurried over, his eyes full of panic and rage. He held up the bottle of serum Hyde had provided, his hand trembling.

"What did you give me?” Jefferson asked, shaking. “This is worse than the shit Hopper had me on! I was fine for a few days - hadn't felt better in years - then I started feeling sick, had to miss work. Now, this morning, I woke up in my workshop surrounded by, like, fifty fucking hats!" He threw a haphazardly made top hat on the floor to illustrate the point.

The Queen stood between Jefferson and Hyde to serve as a buffer. She tried placing her hand on Jefferson's arm but he jerked it away. Hyde made a grave mistake giving Jefferson just any old serum as payment. Something in it seriously screwed with Jefferson's brain. Regina had never seen quite how sick Jefferson could look. Looking at him now was disturbing.

"Jefferson, let's take a few deep breaths," said the Queen, remembering some of the guidance Dr. Hopper had given her about deescalation. “Why don't we sit down and talk about this?"

"NO!" Jefferson exploded. "I have done nothing but sit down and talk for months! You are going to fix me NOW! I can't go back into work like this. I've run out of sick days. You want me to be crazy and unemployed? 'Cause then I'm right back at square one! You're the one who broke it, Doc. Fix it. FIX ME!"

Hyde stepped forward, pretending to be intimidated by Jefferson's mad ranting. "Mr. Carter, I'm terribly sorry that you took to the treatment so poorly. Why don't we step into the study and get a start on 'fixing you', as you said?"

The Queen looked aghast, but Hyde had a cool demeanor. He knew what he was doing. He opened the study door and showed Jefferson inside. Alonso was still seated, conscious but dazed, and secure in his chair. Miss Poole was stunned to see Hyde bringing in the man who'd been raving outside, but she acted as if everything was going according to plan.

"Who the hell is this?” asked Jefferson, horrified by the man in the straitjacket.

The Queen cut in before Jefferson could get riled up. “This is Alonso,” she explained. “He's a patient of Dr. Jekyll's from Ingary. His condition is similar to yours. Dr. Jekyll has been working on a new formula to treat him. Potentially, if it works for him, it might also work better for you.”

"No, I don't want any new shit," Jefferson protested. "Just make me stable till this stuff is out of my system. I'll make do with the old meds."

"I know that negative experiences with new medicines can be frightening," said Hyde calmly, "but try to keep an open mind. Please, have a seat."

Jefferson took another deep breath. He was still shaking. He couldn't take his eyes off the man's restraints. "Why's he wearing that straitjacket?" Jefferson asked, chillingly quiet compared to his caterwauling outside.

"I'm afraid you caught him during an episode. A bit like your hat incident, I'd imagine," Hyde lied. "Miss Poole, will you kindly remove Alonso's restraints for me? I think he's found his way back to himself now." Miss Poole, giving Hyde an odd look, did as she was told. In truth, Hyde only had Alonso's restraints removed for Jefferson's comfort.

"We were just about to start Alonso's therapy session when you arrived," Regina said. Hyde got a very concerned look on his face. "I'm just here to observe, with Alonso's prior consent of course."

"Why the sudden interest in psychiatry, Regina?" Jefferson wondered.

Regina tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'm always interested in tackling a _new subject_ ," she said, placing careful emphasis on the words she wanted Hyde to hear. "Especially one that impacts such a dear friend of mine."

"I wouldn't exactly call us friends," Jefferson said dispassionately. "No offense." 

Hyde did his best to mask the grin that grew on his face. He tried to sneak up behind Jefferson with the needle, but Alonso seized it and injected it into his own shoulder. "Alonso!" Hyde yelled. "What have you done?"

"I'm showing this man who you really are," Alonso answered. "It's too late for me."

For a moment, nothing happened. Jefferson, Hyde, and the Queen looked on in anticipation. Then they looked on in horror as Alonso convulsed and twisted about, rising out of his chair and staggering across the floor. He screamed and thrashed, knocking over the lamp on Hyde's desk. Alonso cried out in agony as he ripped in half, creating two of himself standing side by side. However, unlike the original, the second Alonso was dressed in the garb of a Spanish knight. Jefferson was also beside himself, but only figuratively.

“What the fuck?” Jefferson yelled. "What just happened? Is that what happened to you two with the Queen and Hyde?"

"More or less," said the Queen, keeping Regina's even tone.

"And you were gonna do that to me?" He didn't need confirmation. Jefferson looked back at the second Alonso, who was examining his surroundings. His ill-fitting metal armor clanked with every step. "And who are you supposed to be?" Jefferson asked him, preparing to run.

The new Alonso stood erect and saluted. "I am I, Don Quixote, the Lord of la Mancha!" he boasted, drawing his sword.

The whole scenario was so audacious that Jefferson couldn't help but laugh. "Of course you are," he said incredulously. "Why wouldn't you be?"

Hyde stepped in to do damage control. "As you can see, the formula has separated Alonso from his alter so we can examine it in a more controlled environment," Hyde calmly bullshitted. "After we sufficiently resolve the problem in this part of his psyche, we can reintegrate Alonso's fractured halves-"

"Careful, young man!" Don Quixote warned, cutting Hyde off. "These two are not what they appear to be! This woman is a witch and this man a demon, here to ensnare you with their wickedness and lies!"

"What is he talking about?" Jefferson asked, quite ill at ease, inching closer to the door.

“He's _Don Quixote_ , Jefferson. He’s a complete madman," said the Queen. "Read his book. The lunatic thinks windmills are giants, for god's sake."

Jefferson paused at Regina's choice of words. “Dr. Hopper told you to avoid stigmatizing language. 'Madman.' 'Lunatic.' It's triggering, remember? You used to be pretty good about that. Are you really Regina, or is this nutjob actually right?”

”Oh, so you get to say it but not me?” the Queen griped, forgetting her even-tempered persona.

Jefferson smiled smugly at her, knowing he caught her. ”I’m the crazy one. I can say whatever the fuck I want. Now who are you really?” 

The Queen scowled. “I guess a broken clock really is right twice a day. Looks like the jig's up, sweetie,” she said. She waved her hand and turned herself and Hyde back into their regular forms.

Don Quixote and Jefferson both startled when they saw the Queen in all her fury and regalia. Jefferson was transported back to the last time he had seen Regina looking like that, trapped on the other side of the looking-glass. The Don ran between Jefferson and their foes, brandishing his sword. “Get behind me, lad! Be gone, ye foul demons!” he bellowed, swinging the sword left and right.

Alonso coughed from his seat, nearly forgotten. “We’ll hold them back, son. They can’t afford to kill us. Go now, before this fate befalls you as well!” Alonso instructed. Jefferson didn't need to be told twice.

The Queen wasn't having it. ”If you tell them what you saw today and what you did for us, they'll never let you have Grace back!” she threatened. "Never in a million years! You hear me?"

"What I did? What did I...?" Jefferson looked at Alonso and the empty needle lying on the carpet. He realized then just what he'd been complicit in. He'd been helping Hyde and the Queen. With what, he was unsure. "Those chemicals weren't for me, were they?"

The Queen laughed out loud. "Crazy _and_ stupid! You think you would have learned from the last time I wanted something from you!"

Jefferson growled with rage, mostly because of how right she was. How could he have trusted her? Trusting the Queen before had been the biggest mistake of his life. It cost him his sanity and his daughter. Incensed, Jefferson was ready to fight the Queen barehanded, but he heeded Alonso's advice and bolted from the room. The Don held back Hyde and the Queen so Jefferson could make his escape. The Queen watched furiously as Jefferson sprinted out the door. 

“Don’t worry, my dear,” Hyde assured her. “If he doesn’t taper off of that serum, he won’t be a problem for long. I must say, Alonso, that was quite the trick you pulled. But now your selves are still at my mercy and I'm no longer in the mood to be gentle with you.”

"Do your worst." Alonso smiled victoriously. “I've still got one more trick up my sleeve. Don Quixote, I'm afraid you've been deceived. It’s the giants! They're forcing us all to keep you here while they destroy the town! Please have mercy on us and vanquish those wretched monsters! Storybrooke is depending on you!”

At the mention of giants, Don Quixote perked up. "I will slay the monsters where they stand!" he proclaimed. Without a moment’s hesitation, Don Quixote leapt onto Hyde’s desk and crashed straight through the back window. He tumbled onto the grass and stumbled away from the mansion with great speed. The Queen could have stopped him with magic but she had been left paralyzed by the insanity of it all.

”It’s like your other half once said in a session,” Alonso said to Hyde. “Knowing one’s self is crucial to recovery.” Hyde would have Jekyll punished for that pearl of wisdom.

Meanwhile, Jefferson made a mad dash for his car and started driving without bothering to buckle up first. “Gotta get to work,” he mumbled to himself as he turned the key. So the Evil Queen had returned. So she was conspiring to do some nefarious deed with Hyde, experimenting on the mentally ill. So Jefferson had unwittingly aided them by robbing his best friend. He didn't have time to process any of that now. He needed to get down to The Rabbit Hole before opening time or risk losing his job. Somehow he'd function for a full shift. He'd will himself sane if he had to. "You can do this. Just think about Grace. Do it for Grace."

“Gotta get to work," Jefferson continued muttering under his breath. "Gotta get me to work. Get me to work. Get to work. Get to work. Get it to work. Get it to work. Get it to work...” No, not again. Not now. Jefferson tried to keep control, while he braced himself for the inevitable. He tried to drive, tried to push the thought away, but he blacked out behind the wheel on that empty street. " _Get it to work... Get it to work... Get it to work..."_

 

* * *

 

On the day of La Svengali’s concert, Jim forced himself out of bed in the early afternoon. He had an obligation, and he would see it done. He took a shower and even thought about shaving. His beard was starting to grow back in. Jim put the same old clothes back on and sat down at the desk.

While sorting through his stockade of weapons, Jim found what was left of his rum and finished the bottle. The supply aboard _The Jolly Roger_ was better. He looked at the pirate grinning menacingly on the bottle.

Fucking pirates. They took everything from him. His family's inn, his father, and now Killian too. And now if he wants rum, he has to drink it out of a bottle with his enemy printed on the front. Hell, whoever this Captain Morgan guy was, he looked almost exactly the way Jim pictured Captain Hook. The special at the bar was the _Jolly Roger_ for fuck's sake.There was no escaping Hook in this goddamned town. Not Killian. _Hook._  

Jim chucked the bottle at the wall, shattering it to bits. There was a stifled scream outside the door. Jim froze. Shit. Someone heard that. Then there was a hesitant knock. Jim ran over and covered the broken glass with his coat. "Who is it?" he asked nonchalantly.

"It's Darius," said the voice on the other side of the door. Not Darius. Anyone but Darius. "Can I come in?"

What was Jim going to tell him? No? "Uh, sure. Let me get the door." Jim opened the door and there was Darius, anxiously twiddling his thumbs.

"What was that noise?" Darius asked. He looked awfully frightened. Of Jim?

Jim told another lie. "I accidentally dropped a bottle. The glass is under the coat. I didn't want you stepping on it."

"Oh, all right." Darius didn't sound like he believed Jim entirely, but he seemed reassured that he was safe at least. Jim ushered him inside and Darius took a seat on the bed. "I miss having my own bed. Snow came by and said she's working on finding me a new one, but I don't think I'll need it much longer."

"Why's that?" Jim asked.

"Well, as soon as we catch Svengali, we're all going home," Darius replied. "Captain Nemo's gonna take us back to Ingary and then Nadir will take me back home to my mom. You're coming too, right? I haven’t seen you in days.”

Jim didn't know what to tell him. He hadn't been planning on returning. Once Captain Hook was dead, Jim... Jim wasn't going to have much of a purpose anymore. Even with Killian alive, Jim still didn't have much of a purpose. What would he do once Svengali was taken care of? Maybe stick to the original plan.

"Of course, I'm coming along, Dar. Someone's gotta make sure you guys don't get into any more trouble," Jim joked as he slowly died inside. 

"Good. Nadir wanted me to ask when we were going to head to the theatre. Tonight's the big night!" Darius said excitedly. "Are we gonna need to dress up or is this all right?"

The big night. Provided that everything went according to plan, by nightfall, all of Jim's duties will have been finished. Then it would be over. Jim could do whatever he wanted, which was absolutely nothing.

In regards to Darius's question, Jim said, "It's a community theatre, Dar. It's nothing fancy. The show starts at six. We should probably leave around five."

"Who's taking us?" asked Darius, which was an excellent question.

Jim hadn't secured them a ride across town. He certainly wasn't going to ask Emma and Killian for one. Jim wasn't even exactly sure where the theatre was. Jim sent Darius back up to Nadir while he humbly apologized to Ruby for his rudeness and asked her for a ride in her car.

Ruby, not one to hold grudges, said yes. Jim also asked for a broom and dustpan to clean up the broken glass in his room. Jim went up with his cleaning supplies and, after disposing of the broken bottle, informed Nadir and Darius that Ruby would be their escort across town.

That gave him about four hours to kill before he'd have to get ready. Jim decided to take another nap. What else was there to do? It wasn't particularly restful. He wasn't wrestling with any anxieties anymore, no more puzzles to solve. Jim just felt empty, like he'd always been empty. The happiness he had known was the expectation of a future he was unable to deliver. This pulled back the curtain on his whole life. Nothing was there. Nothing had ever been there. Jim was a void.

Darius woke Jim up with a knock on his door. Jim awoke from a dreamless sleep, feeling something like the ghost of happiness. That nothingness felt wonderful. At the very least, it didn't hurt. It was like Jim belonged there. Coming out of it was absolute agony.

Jim numbly dressed himself in his best clothes. They were Jefferson's clothes, expensive but still fairly casual. Jim figured his big coat might be a bit much. Nadir would probably call him out for attracting attention. Jim slid a pair of knives into the sheaths inside his boots. He could fit a small revolver in his pocket if he waited to load it. It was a good thing the others were coming armed with more discreet weapons.

He met up with Darius and Nadir downstairs, just finishing up their dinner. Jim wasn't hungry. He wasn't sure he'd ever be hungry again. Or happy. Or even sad. All desires and emotions had left him, except maybe the desire to go back to bed. Jim had a cup of coffee just in case the music at the concert would make him drift off to sleep, but it only made him feel sick.

Jim caught a glimpse of red outside the window. Ruby pulled up in a cherry red vintage convertible. She reentered the diner and tossed her apron to Dorothy. "I'll be back in twenty," Ruby said with a smile. "Think you can manage without me?"

"Of course not," Dorothy returned, "but I'll make do anyway." She smiled back affectionately, tucking a flyaway hair behind Ruby's ear. Those two were awfully close. In fact, they acted much the same way Jim and Killian did when they were together. Could they be...?

"Come on, guys!" Ruby hollered. "You want a ride or not?" She jingled her keys at them. Darius sprang to his feet and ran after her.

Jim turned to Nadir who was slowly making his way out of his booth seat. Once again, he was wearing his fedora, sunglasses, and scarf. "I should probably tell you," Jim said, "Darius has a bit of a thing for the waitress."

"I noticed," Nadir replied without much enthusiasm. "I remember being his age."

"I really don't," said Jim, trying to recall what he was like at twelve. It had been a while.

According to his mother, he'd been quite a handful. He acted out a lot. Of course, there hadn't really been a time when Jim wasn't a handful. Still, there also hadn't really been a time when Jim showed more than a passing interest in girls, something Sarah Hawkins was eventually forced to acknowledge.

Nadir and Jim walked down the steps to Ruby's car. Darius had already claimed the shotgun seat next to Ruby. Jim shook his head at him.

"Are you really as old as you say you are?" Nadir asked him, seemingly out of nowhere.

"I don't know," said Jim dryly, "I lost track." Jim was only half-kidding. 

They hopped in Ruby's car and drove to the theatre. Ruby did her best to make pleasant conversation, but Nadir was now firmly in Svengali-hunting mode. Darius just wanted to pester her and show her flowers he had found that morning. That left Jim, who was trying to focus his mind on the Phantom as well. It was his last promise. He was going to keep it, even if it killed him. Especially if it killed him.

Ruby pulled up to the front of the theatre and let the guys out. "Are you going to need a lift back?" she asked.

"No," Jim answered. "If things go as planned, we'll end up at the police station. Emma or David can drive us back." _Preferably David_ , Jim added mentally. "Thanks for the lift though."

Ruby drove off, leaving the three of them standing on the sidewalk. David had left tickets for them at will call. Nadir, the most acquainted with theatres, fetched them. The doorman tore their tickets and let them inside. The foyer was crowded with people drinking champagne and carrying hors d'oeuvres trays. It wasn't exactly black-tie, but Jim still felt slightly underdressed.

Across the crowd, Jim spotted Snow and David. David was wearing an almost identical ensemble to Jim, khaki slacks and a blue buttoned shirt. Both Snow and David were looking nice but sensible. It made Jim feel like less of a sore thumb. Snow waved them over.

"Hey guys," Snow greeted them. "Ready for the, uh, _big show_ tonight?" By "big show", Snow meant Svengali's arrest. Jim wasn't sure how he felt. Was he ready to capture a freak in a mask? Absolutely. Was he ready to lose the one shred of identity he had left, his sense of obligation to another person? Not at all.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Jim replied. He took a champagne flute and restrained himself from immediately downing it. "How about you, Nadir?"

Nadir had a solemn look about him. "I just want to see it done," he said. Darius nodded seriously, but Jim could tell he was bubbling with excitement. Nadir leaned in and whispered, “Haven’t you had enough? I can smell the rum on your breath.”

Jim set his glass down. “Oh, what of it?” he snapped. Fortunately, Snow and David didn’t hear.

Snow withdrew a buzzing phone from her purse. It was Emma. She and Killian were just now pulling up in her car. Jim wasn't ready to see Killian again, not after what happened earlier. Even worse, Emma was there to keep them from talking about it. Or maybe that was better. Couldn't they avoid talking about it without it being due to her?

Luckily, the house doors opened. Jim grabbed a program to hide his face and headed inside. Nadir and Darius followed suit. They sat down and Jim immediately buried his face in his program. The printing was rushed, so the program was a single folded sheet containing La Svengali's set list and an ad for the upcoming production of _Into the Woods_. Most of the titles were from operas in foreign languages.

"Thank God," said Nadir, letting out a sigh of relief. "No chandeliers. No boxes either. He always sat in a private box. Where the devil is he?" Nadir sat up and looked around. If he didn't know where to find Svengali, Jim feared they might be shit out of luck.

The lights dimmed. The curtain lifted. A beautiful set of trees and platforms painted like storybooks was laid out on the stage. The circus orchestra waited with their instruments. "Ladies and gentlemen," said Clopin's familiar voice over the speakers, "La Svengali."

La Svengali walked onstage in a glittering gown. There was a smattering of applause. She looked very tense as she turned, opened her eyes, and saw the crowd. The violins came in with the same dissonant sound from her circus act, building and layering until finally resolution was made. La Svengali stood firm and tall, no longer afraid of her audience. She took a deep breath in and began her song.

 _"All my life, I've been waiting_ _in my mind, in a rocking chair,_ _for my fancy to take the air._ _I know would know the time. Tick and tock went my childhood._ _Father said I would know the place._ _Skin would tingle and pulse would race as they do._

 _"It's here I'm home where music fills the air._ _Now I'm home where a thousand lovers cry, swoon, and sigh._ _And I'm home where every violin plays a treat_ _as sweet as a honeycomb._ _Wherever music plays, I know I am home."_

How nice it must be to know where home is. Jim thought back to the last place he called home. He had a small loft in Ingary that he rented. It was waiting for him when he got back, if he ever went back. It wasn't much, no better or worse than his room at Granny's. There was nothing there of value. Jim hadn't had a real home since he sold the inn after his mother died. A home is where you belong. Jim didn't belong anywhere.

 _"Here, where fables come alive,"_ continued La Svengali, _"year by year, we forget our troubled nights under lights_ _and each tear becomes a graceful tune or duet_ _kept straight by a metronome._ _If I'm singing, then I know I am home."_

La Svengali's bright vibrato filled the theatre. The audience erupted with applause. Jim managed a few claps. He had to refocus and think about Svengali. The Phantom. Mr. Why. Clopin swore he'd be here and according to Nadir, he was an easy man to spot. All of them, including Emma and Killian somewhere, were scanning the theatre for a man with a face that could stop a clock. Where was he?

The song continued on. A man came onstage from the left wing, which is to say, stage right. Sitting far in the back, Jim couldn't see him clearly, but he was tall and blonde, wearing a tuxedo. He didn't even need a microphone to amplify his voice as he sung directly to La Svengali.

 _"All my life I have waited for an angel to finally speak._ _Mouth goes dry and my knees go weak at each word_. _Each sound, that voice, that music in the air_... _Every choice, every syllable, each note, how they float_. _And her tone, a miracle of silk spun to gold unfolding in polychrome._ _When I hear it, how I know I am home._

 _"Who is this prodigy who sings for only me?_ _She is innocent and natural as a rose._ _I'll do her so much good._ _We two, I know we could combine to make a perfect world far better than what's outside."_

La Svengali vocalized, hitting notes high up in the rafters. She joined him for the final verse, holding the man's hand as they finished their duet. Who was this guy? It definitely wasn't Clopin again. He was a much better singer, maybe even better than La Svengali.

 _"Dreams, I've lived within my dreams._ _Now it seems I've awakened and they're real._ _If they're real and, one day,_ _we walk upon this stage from these wings_ _and play underneath this dome,_ _if we sing with all our heart, we'll be home!"_

The song concluded. Even greater applause followed. They both took a bow. The man kissed La Svengali's hand before exiting the stage. She resumed her concert with an ear-splitting Italian aria and Jim gradually began growing bored. Eventually, after a particularly high note from a piece by Mozart, the intermission mercifully arrived. The curtain fell and the lights rose. Nadir immediately left to use the facilities, leaving Jim and Darius by themselves.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jim caught Emma signaling them. She wanted to talk out in the lobby. Jim sighed and readied himself to meet with Killian. They both got up and made their way across the foyer to Emma, Killian, and David. Snow was off powdering her nose. To no surprise, Killian was facing away from them sipping on more champagne. Jim hadn't planned on making much eye contact with him, but for some reason, seeing Killian do the same was enraging.

"Hey, everybody!" Jim said just slightly too loudly next to Killian. "Enjoying the show?" Jim could sense Killian deflate at the forced interaction.

"You're here," said Killian, surprise still lingering in his voice. He forced a smile. He couldn't believe Jim had actually shown up after everything that went down on the ship days prior.

That's really all he had to say? "I've got a job to finish," Jim replied sourly. "So what's the plan?"

"According to Clopin, the Phantom's supposed to be here watching the performance," said Emma. "We've just gotta find him, corner him, and cuff him."

"Unfortunately, we haven't seen anyone fitting his description, even though the description is pretty specific," David added. "So we're out of ideas."

"Nadir's in the bathroom but he mentioned that the Phantom, Svengali, whatever liked to watch performances from a private box. Does this place have one of those?" Jim asked.

"It's a community theatre. We're lucky there's a parking lot," Emma said sarcastically. "The only private place to watch would probably be the sound booth. Should we check it out?"

Emma and David headed two floors upstairs where patrons weren't allowed. Killian, David, and Darius stayed below. Darius silently stood there, oblivious to the mounting tension between the two adults. Obviously, they couldn't air their grievances in front of him, but they ought to say something to each other.

"So-" Jim began, in an attempt to be civil.

"I'm going to go find my seat, I think. I'll see you after the show," said Killian. Fucking coward. Jim sent an icy glare Killian's way as he walked back into the theatre. Darius took notice.

"Is something wrong between you and Killian?" Darius asked. "Ever since you found him, you don't seem very happy."

Jim didn't know what to tell the kid. Even withholding the more intimate details, it was still so complicated. "He's different than I remember," Jim said. "That's all. And he's in a relationship now, with Emma. Sometimes when your friends start dating somebody, they don't have as much time for you."

Darius frowned. "Then you better not meet anybody," he said. "You're busy enough as it is."

"Not after tonight," said Jim. "But you don't have to worry about that. That ship has sailed." Quite literally.

Jim ruffled Darius's hair to lighten the mood. Darius saw Nadir return from the bathroom and walked over to him, letting Jim be alone with his thoughts. They both went back into the house for the second act. Jim was left by himself in the foyer, polishing off another glass of cheap champagne. He was only feeling it a little. He knew it wasn't smart to drink on the job, but Jim somehow failed to give a shit.

"Are you enjoying the show?" said a man to Jim's left, also holding a glass. It was the guest soloist from La Svengali's first number. Up close, Jim could see that he was about forty, maybe less. He had slicked blond hair and piercing blue eyes, a bit too clean-cut for Jim's tastes, but he was still something to look at. He had an air of refinement and an accent Jim couldn't quite place, like someone who grew up traveling the world.

"I'm sorry. What did you say?" Jim asked, not quite having heard him.

The man leaned toward him. "I asked if you were enjoying the show," he repeated clearly. Jim told him that he was and how much he enjoyed his piece with La Svengali. "Thank you. She's very talented, isn't she?"

"Very," Jim agreed, taking a final sip of champagne. He wasn't really in the mood for small talk, but maybe he could get some information out of him. "She must have a great vocal coach."

"I should certainly hope so. I am her vocal instructor," the man said proudly.

It took a second for Jim to parse the implications of that statement. When it clicked, he was both confused and terrified. Unless he was very much mistaken, this man was Erik Svengali. He looked so normal though, better than normal even. It would have to be magic. Maybe it was.

Just to be sure, Jim asked him his name. "Erik," the man said. "And you?"

"Philip," said Jim uneasily. They shook hands. The man's hands were dry and leathery and cold as ice. It was like shaking hands with a corpse. La Svengali really let him touch her face? Despite his new and improved complexion, this was indeed Erik. He may not have a death's head but he still had death's touch. _"Well, I found him,"_ Jim thought. _"Now what?"  
_

He was so paralyzed from their meeting that Jim could do nothing as Erik Svengali, Mr. Why himself, disappeared into the theatre. Jim pursued him, but when he reached the main house, the man had vanished. Jim looked around frantically, but there was no sign of him anywhere. Jim leaned against the wall and caught his breath. He was scared nearly to death again when Emma and David returned behind him with Snow in tow.

"Sorry. You look like you just saw a ghost," Emma said, taking in Jim's haunted look.

"Not quite a ghost," replied Jim. "More like a Phantom."

"Where is he?" asked Emma urgently.

"He went into the theatre and disappeared," Jim told them. "He doesn't look the way you think. He's the guest singer from earlier. If he hadn't said he was La Svengali's teacher... You'd have to see him. There's not so much as a pimple on his face." Jim threw up his hands to show his complete bafflement. He carefully avoided language that would imply he found Erik at all attractive.

None of the Nolans knew what to do with this new information. Emma took her phone from her pocket and brought up her photos. "The sound guy was taking a break. Look what we found." There were very explicit instructions regarding light and sound for the beginning of each act, particularly how the violins were meant to project into La Svengali's monitors and in what patterns the light needed to shine in her face. It was an absolute imperative from Erik.

"It's the same tune that played for her at the circus. 'Tune' is generous. It's more like somebody's playing a saw," Jim remarked. "You know, I might be going out on a limb here, but Belle did mention that Erik's a hypnotist. Whenever those tones play, La Svengali sort of changes. Her stage presence is different. When the music stops, she breaks. I wonder..."

"...if she's being hypnotized," Emma finished for him. "We need to get back to the booth. Mom, come with me. Dad, you and Jim stay here and get ready to catch him when he runs."

Emma and Snow ran back upstairs before the second act could begin. Jim and David waited in the vomitorium - the passage beneath the mezzanine - for Erik to run through to get to the sound booth. David sent Killian a quick report via text. Jim wished he could send a message to Nadir, but he guessed it was too late for that.

The house lights dimmed to cue everyone back into their seats. The house doors closed. Now they just had to wait for a frustrated Phantom to fling them open. The orchestra played a brief piece as the curtain rose. The audience applauded as La Svengali returned to the stage. The violins played their discordant tune before resolving, only much softer than before. La Svengali timidly started to sing.

 _"Glitter and be gay, that's the part I play. Here I am in Paris..._  France..." She was extremely off-pitch, a full third below. La Svengali tried to correct course, but her tune only got worse. " _Forced to bend my soul to a sordid role, victimized by bitter, bitter circumstance. Alas for me, had I remained beside my lady mother-"_ She inhaled loudly into the mic, almost gasping. " _My virtue had remained unstained until my maiden hand was gai-"_ Her voice completely cracked. The orchestra stopped playing. 

The audience gasped. The microphone fell to the stage with a thud, resulting in loud, screeching feedback. Jim saw a screen displaying video from the house. La Svengali had fainted. Emma and Snow accomplished their mission to stop the show. Now where was Erik? Watching the screen, Jim saw a blond man in a tux rush the stage to La Svengali's side. "He's not coming to us," Jim said to David, pointing to the screen. "He's onstage with her."

"Follow me," said David, guiding Jim to a door that said "Employees Only." Emma and Snow caught them just as they were leaving. "We're heading to the stage. You take the other side and we'll corner him!" said David. Emma and Snow took off in the other direction. Jim and David passed through the door, dodging stagehands and other employees. "Sheriff's Department!" David shouted to clear a path.

They burst through a door and found themselves surrounded by ropes and curtains. The knots were very familiar. Someone once advised Jim to get a job in the theatre. Lots of retired sailors became stage crew. Many of the skills easily translated. Rope work, working in the dark and in close quarters, spells of boredom followed by fits of activity. However, Jim always suspected that he was told to go into the performing arts for other reasons.

Onstage, Erik was hovering over La Svengali, who was either too weak or too embarrassed to get up. The house lights were up. The audience had even begun leaving the theatre. Jim didn't like arresting Erik while his pupil was passed out and publicly humiliated, but the situation was what it was. He caught Emma's eye across the maze of curtains. It was now or never.

Jim drew his knives, adrenaline overcoming the alcohol in his system. Emma and David drew their guns. They slowly made their way to the stage. Jim saw Killian and Nadir blocking Erik's exit through the audience. It was over for him.

"Erik Svengali!" David called out. "You're under arrest." The man looked up at David. It wasn't Erik. It was another decoy from the circus, one of the tango dancers wearing a cheap blonde wig. Where was the real Erik?

Just then, there was a loud cry from Killian, who had joined them onstage. His gun clattered on the floor. From the catwalks above, a noose dangled and from that noose dangled Killian gasping for air. The emptiness inside Jim was filled to the brim with fear. He sobered up quickly. Without a moment to lose, Jim ran to him and slashed at the rope, cutting Killian free. Jim caught him as he fell, overwhelmed by relief.

"Thanks, mate," Killian wheezed. "I owe you one."

"I've lost count of how many ones you owe me," Jim said in return. He had been so furious with Killian before. Seeing him almost strangled to death reminded him of how much he still cared, even though he wished he didn't. It took all his willpower not to embrace him. Instead, Jim focused all his attention on Killian's would-be killer. "Erik! I know you're up there! You're outnumbered! Surrender now and I'll only hurt you a little!"

Emma and the others were stunned by how Jim commanded the situation, so much so that no one stopped him from cutting a line and riding it into the rafters while a sandbag nearly clocked David in the head. Once up there, it was dark. He had to regain his balance. Jim blamed the champagne. He under the safe assumption that Erik was armed. Good thing Jim wasn't bothering with a weapon he needed to aim.

Jim saw a shadow run around a corner. Jim gave chase, only to find he disappeared yet again. _Hands at the level of your eyes,_ he remembered. Jim raised his hand just in time to feel a loop fall around his neck. He grabbed it, tore it away from him, and pulled it hard, sending its wielder straight to the floor. If his reaction time had been any more delayed, Jim might have been dead.

"You'll pay for what you've done to her!" Erik hissed at Jim.

"Oh, get a grip. She's just passed out. You're going to pay for what you did to him!" Jim returned, kicking Erik repeatedly while he was down. "If anyone's gonna kill that pirate, it's gonna me! Understand?" Erik swept Jim's leg and he fell, rattling the catwalk. The two men found themselves grappling up there while everyone beneath them wondered what the hell was going on. Erik and Jim both staggered to their feet. "I could do this all day," said Jim with a cocky smile.

"I, however, am growing bored with this," Erik replied, pulling a gun out of his pocket. He cocked the gun, then heard more footsteps behind him. Emma and David had joined the fray after a long run upstairs.

David grabbed Erik's gun and punched the man square in the face. He fell back, holding his head in his hands. He lowered one hand to see. A crack was forming along the side of his face from his chin to his temple. In the dark, it looked very much like his face was beginning to peel off. One more punch sent his face flying off, down to the stage below. Erik climbed onto the railing and grabbed a curtain. He slid down the fabric like a fire pole.

At center stage, Erik grabbed his decoy's opera cane and pounded it on the floor, releasing a smoke screen. Jim slid down a rope almost as easily as he rode one up. Through the smoke, Jim could make out part of a face that was all sinew and stretched skin, gangrenous-looking and gaunt. There was a whirring mechanical sound. When the smoke cleared, Erik was gone, disappeared through a trap door.

Jim and Killian dashed for the steps beneath the stage. “Don’t waste your time!” Nadir called out. “He’s gone.” His disappointment was tangible.

"Are you all right?" Jim asked Killian, who was rubbing his neck.

"Fine," said Killian painfully. "Maybe a little rope burn or some whiplash. Nothing a little lotion and a trip to the chiropractor won't fix."

Emma questioned Erik's decoy, but he had no answers beyond what they already knew. La Svengali was conscious again, but too dazed to be of use. Still a bit stunned by it all, Emma picked the Phantom's false face off of the ground. Detached from Erik, it looked like a conventional masquerade mask. There must be magic within it that disguised his face, turning the mask into a more palatable visage for him. Emma handed the mask to Jim while she took out her phone.

"Hey Ruby, what are you doing right now?" Emma asked, making a call. "We could use your help at the theatre. No, Jim doesn't need a ride. We need your nose."

Fifteen minutes later, Ruby made her way into the house. Jim hopped down from the stage and handed her the mask. "Well, I'm back. I'm guessing that you found him," Ruby said, looking at the mask.

"Found him and lost him," said Emma, "but he left us with a parting gift. Think you can pick up the scent?"

"I'll give it a shot. It's new moon, so my nose isn't as strong as usual." Ruby pressed the mask to her face and inhaled. As she did so, the mask briefly flashed a ghostly projection of a different face, not Erik's but a woman's. Ruby dropped it in surprise.

Jim picked the mask back up, flipping it over and back again. "Tell me what you see," he said to Emma and Ruby, curious. He tied the mask to his face, casting a glamour over it. Emma took her phone, inverted the camera, and held it close to Jim. His eyes looked less tired. His nose was straighter. His teeth were whiter. There was some scarring from adolescent acne that smoothed over. Any hair that receded at the sides instantly grew back. All his flaws were gone. Jim knew he wasn't ugly, but now he was downright gorgeous. He had to take the mask off, or risk staring at his reflection all day.

"Let me see that again," said Ruby. She tried the mask on. Her face didn't change quite as much. Her face got a little rounder. Her jaw became a bit smoother. Her eyes shrank by a millimeter at the most. "Well?"

"Nothing happened," said Emma. "You shifted around a little, but it's pretty much the same. Actually... your eyes are different. They're blue."

"I always wanted blue eyes," Ruby said. "Brown eyes with brown hair..." She shrugged, like she thought she was plain or something. Even Jim knew that Ruby was an exceptionally beautiful woman.

"It doesn't fix what's wrong with us," Jim surmised. "It fixes what we think is wrong with us." Suddenly, no one else was curious about trying it on. A mask that could read your mind. No, thank you. Although, Jim couldn't blame the Phantom for being insecure. He barely got a glimpse of the man's true face, but he saw more than enough.

Ruby sniffed at the air, trying to get a good whiff of Erik's scent. She wandered around the theatre a bit, looking high and low. Sensing something, she got on her hands and knees. Jim watched her, trying to suppress a laugh as she crawled on all fours outside like a hunting dog. They followed her to the front of the theatre. Ruby encountered a sewer grate and immediately recoiled.

"Guys, I've got good news and bad news," Ruby told them, standing up and dusting herself off.

"Let me guess," said Emma, displeased. "He's in the sewer." Ruby nodded. "Well, down we go, I guess."

No one wanted to volunteer. Snow had to leave. It was getting to be later than what she told Neal's babysitter. Jim stepped up to accompany Emma and Ruby down the manhole. The journey through the sewers was long and unpleasant. Fortunately, their phones doubled as flashlights. Jim held his shirt over his nose to diffuse the smell. There was barely any room to walk without risking falling into something nasty. Poor Ruby had to keep her nose out for the Phantom, taking in the full-blast of odor that the sewer had to offer. She looked perpetually on the cusp of being sick.

“Thanks for saving Hook back there,” Emma said, looking straight ahead. “You know, when the Queen showed up in Regina’s office the other day with that fireball, I saw you move in front of him.” She was trying to make another connection. Jim wished she'd give it a rest.

“We’re on the same team, Emma. I take care of my teammates,” Jim told her, shooting that connection down. It wasn’t a lie, although he was steering her away from a greater truth. “What kind of person would I be if I let Kill-  _Hook_ get strangled right in front of me?”

“You keep calling him Killian,” she noticed. Jim could have slapped himself. “You’re reminding yourself to call him Hook.”

“That’s his name, isn’t it?” Jim said defensively. Inside, there was a chorus of _“You idiot!”_ echoing around his brain.

Emma looked away. “Most people don’t know Killian Jones,” she said. She crossed her arms and hugged them to her body, like she was holding onto that fact and trying to keep it from escaping.

Jim had once been proud to be in Emma’s position, one of few who knew the real Killian. Now, he couldn’t honestly say that he knew him at all anymore. “He was still Killian when I met him,” Jim told her. “How… How did you meet?”

“My mom and I were trying to get back home from the Enchanted Forest. We found Hook under some dead bodies. He was pretending to be the survivor of an ogre attack. It was actually an ambush. He and Regina’s mother Cora had teamed up. They were trying to get to Storybrooke too. One thing led to another and here we are.” Emma trailed off, sounding somewhat sad.

Jim was grateful. He didn’t need to know any intimate details of their romance. Presumably, much like Jim, Killian had managed to annoy Emma until he wormed his way into her heart and charmed her literal pants off. It was a talent of his. Now Jim had to pretend like he hadn't attempted to create a divide between Killian and Emma, or attempted to divide Killian's lips. The shame was weighty and Jim needed more than ever to escape the claustrophobic sewer.

Eventually, they came upon a ladder up to another manhole. "This is the place," said Ruby, relieved. She quickly climbed out into the fresh air. Ruby darted over and smelled some freshly cut grass, anything to cleanse her nose's palette. "Never ask me to do that again. He's in there." Ruby pointed to an old church.

"Here? Why this place?" Jim wondered. He read the sign. Our Lady of Eternal Hope. What was this, some kind of cult?

"Where else would have a pipe organ?" Emma said. She sent a text to David, Killian, and also Regina alerting them to Erik's location. Regina quickly materialized nearby, while it took some time for David, Killian, and Nadir to arrive via car.

"Regina was available? You couldn't have called her to do a tracking spell or something?" Ruby complained.

Emma scratched the back of her head. "I didn't think the mask would be aerodynamic enough!" was her excuse. Emma filled Regina in on everything that had transpired. By the look on her face, Regina was less than impressed by how they handled things.

"I would complain that I wasn't there to prevent this whole mess, but I know if I'd been there, I'd be complaining about you needing my help in the first place," she snarked.

"Good to have you here, Regina," said Emma.

Once David and the others arrived, they quickly assessed their surroundings. "I might have guessed this is where he'd be hiding," Nadir said, looking at the church's gargoyles and buttresses. It wasn't quite an opera house, but it was closer than that nothing of a theatre in town.

"Then why didn't you?" said Regina, crossing her arms. Nadir didn't respond and instead prepared to lay siege to the church. The others did likewise.

"So what, we just storm from all sides?" David asked, trying to strategize.

"Only if you have a death wish," Nadir answered. "He's had nearly two weeks to prepare for company. We stay together. Someone must stay outside to catch him if he runs."

"Great. So we're playing _Home Alone_ with the Phantom of the Opera," said Regina mirthlessly. "I'll keep watch. I've got enough magic left in me to knock him to the ground."

Ruby stood next to her. "Me too. If he escapes, I'll pick up the trail."

The plan was coming together. Suddenly, someone else got out of David's car. They all turned and looked. It was La Svengali, still in her concert gown. "You brought her?" Emma asked.

"She wanted to come. Guys, this is-" La Svengali cut David off.

"Trilby O'Farrell," she said in a meek, lilting voice with the slightest brogue. "The Sheriff told me everything on the way here. I can't believe Mr. Svengali would do all this. It doesn't seem possible." She joined the crowd shyly, her demeanor in person much like her presence on stage. "I'm so embarrassed by all this, and by what happened at theatre. I'm sorry. I can hardly look you all in the eye."

Emma stepped forward and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Don't be. We're the ones who messed with Erik's weird hypnosis thing. We didn't mean to embarrass you like that. He's our only lead on Hyde and we needed to draw him out of hiding. Any chance you could get him to come out?"

"I get such awful stage fright. I don't like the hypnotism, but it's the only way I can sing. Please don't tell anyone about it. I'm trying to have a career," said Trilby, slightly off-topic. "I'll try to get him to come out, but do go easy on him. He's a nice man. Really, he is."

They were about to organize their approach when the church bells started to ring. They all looked to the bell tower. Jim could barely make out a person's shape inside. The Phantom, possibly? Why would he draw attention to himself by ringing the bells? Whoever it was, Erik was alerted to their presence now. The element of surprise had been lost.

"Shit," said Emma. "Let's just go. Keep your weapons ready. Stay together. Hands at the level of your eyes."

Nadir nodded. "Very good."

Ruby and Regina stayed back, watching over an anxious Trilby and overzealous Darius. It seemed prudent to first check the bell tower. Whether it was Erik or not, whoever had been ringing the bells had to be neutralized. They quietly climbed the old creaking stairs that led to the belfry. When they reached the top, Jim spied the same figure hiding in the shadows. He was too short to be Erik, that was certain. Emma noticed him too as he ducked behind a column.

"Hey!" Emma called out. "Who are you? What are you doing up here?" Silence. "I said-!"

"Go away!" the man shouted back. "Just go away! You don't want to be here!"

Emma inched forward carefully. The stranger might be dangerous. She had her gun drawn just in case. "Just tell us who you are. Are you from Ingary? Come on out with your hands up."

Killian tapped Jim's shoulder. He held his finger to his lips, indicating he was going to try stealth. Jim watched Killian sneak around the perimeter of the tower while Emma kept the man in hiding preoccupied.

"Not originally. I'm from Paris," the man replied, keeping his face out of sight.

"Our Paris or a different Paris?" Emma asked.

The man still wasn't coming out. "A different one, I suppose. Is there more than one?" The man yelped. Killian got to him. That was too easy.

"We don't have time for this," said Killian, dragging him into the light by his hook. The man was quite ugly, but in a different way than Erik. His face looked something like a mask, fleshier than normal with a large growth over his left eye. The eyes themselves were lopsided, his nose was somewhat porcine in nature, and his teeth looked like an old graveyard. More prominent than the rest of his features was his twisted, hunched back.

"Who are you?" Emma asked the short, burly man. "Are you working for Erik? I'm not gonna ask again."

"Please! Don't shoot! Don't hurt me!" the man replied, legs quaking. "They call me Quasimodo."

Emma wiped her brow. She hadn't been expecting that answer. "Quasimodo from... from  _Hunchback._ All right. Makes sense you'd be ringing the bells. What are you doing here?" _Hunchback._ Like that Esmeralda girl. Another book for Jim to check out. Another character for Belle to fawn over. Quasimodo hesitated to answer, still petrified with fear. "Did Erik put you up here?" Emma asked.

"He asked me to signal if anyone was coming. Why are you here? Are you going to arrest him?" asked Quasimodo in return, beginning to go into a full panic.

Emma stepped back. Quasimodo didn't seem to mean any harm. She stowed her weapon. "Listen, Quasi, I don't know what you've had to do for him, but we will drop any and all charges if you help us."

Quasimodo rubbed his arm uncertainly. "I don't know..."

"Or we could arrest you for obstruction of justice or being an accessory to... whatever Erik is doing," Emma threatened.

Quasimodo gulped. "He's probably in the catacombs beneath the church. It's where he hides when people are in the building. Or he might be in the sanctuary. It's where he works on his music."

Emma turned back to the group. "Well, I've seen enough _Scooby-Doo_ as a kid to know that splitting up is a risky endeavor. Catacombs or sanctuary?"

"Funny that we've already got his mask off," said David, holding up Erik's phony face. "I say we start with the sanctuary."

Quasimodo gasped. "You took off his mask? Oh no. He's going to be angry. I wouldn't go in there if I were you."

"Dad, please escort Quasimodo out of the building. We're not going to arrest you, but unless you can get him to come out, we'll need to you need to stay out of this," Emma said to Quasi.

"Fine by me," said Quasimodo as David gingerly set his hand on his back. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

David took Quasimodo out of the church to wait with Ruby, Regina, and the others. He and Regina decided to switch places. Emma led Jim, Killian, and Nadir down to the doors of the sanctuary. Regina joined them, presenting Jim with a sword from the trunk of David's car. "He said you might want this," Regina told him, offering it to him. Jim took the blade. David was placing him on lasso duty.

"All right," said Emma. "The sanctuary's large and it's dark. We might want to break off into groups after all. He might have more of those lassos lying around, so each group needs at least one blade to cut through them. He might also have more guns or who knows what. So watch out."

The group split in two: Killian, Nadir, and Regina and Emma and Jim. They took the left and right sides of the sanctuary respectively. The sanctuary was nearly pitch black, illuminated only by moonlight. It was eerily quiet. A massive pipe organ loomed in the back behind the altar. Death lurked around every corner. Jim wished it would just hurry up already. The suspense wasn't killing him as fast as he'd like.

Just when he thought Erik might have vacated the premises, he heard something like a squeal behind him. Jim whipped around. There was Emma caught in Svengali's noose. He must be perched somewhere above them. Emma tried to illuminate herself with magic, but her focus was torn by the imminent threat of asphyxiation.

It was up to Jim to save her. There was no one else around. He took up his sword, but then a dark voice in the back of Jim's mind told him, _"No one's watching. Just let it happen. You can just tell them you were too late."_

"Help... me," Emma choked, her powers flickering. Her feet lifted off the floor. She pulled at the loop around her neck, struggling to breathe.

Jim ignored his dark, intrusive thoughts and charged toward her. With a clean swipe from his sword, he cut her free. Emma fell to the hard stone ground, lucky to be alive. She loosened the noose and cast it aside.

"What was the hold up?" Emma sputtered, gasping for air.

"Sorry. I was caught off-guard," Jim said. He helped her to her feet, horrified that he ever thought about letting Svengali end her life. Even if doing something that despicable cleared a path to Killian, he'd never forgive Jim. More importantly, Jim would never forgive himself.

"You didn't waste any time with Hook," Emma said, rubbing her bruising neck. "Guys! He's over here!" She lit up her magic, bathing the sanctuary in light. It bounced off the iconic half-mask that Jim saw on the Phantom's book cover. He shrouded himself with his cape. He must have been desperate to hide his true face.

Nadir called out to him. "The game is over, my friend," he said in the middle of the church, approaching them. "We have your new face. Not even I recognized you with it on. Unless you want Miss O'Farrell to see it-"

"Trilby? Where is she? What have you done with her?" Erik demanded from the balcony above. He uncovered himself to more properly rage at them. The mask was not concealing his disfigurements as well as it should have. Jim could see every vein in his contorted face.

"She's outside waiting for you. You can come out with or without your face on. What's it going to be?" Emma told Erik. Erik stepped back. He attempted to run, but Regina and Emma both fired bolts of magic that destroyed his escape path along the upper level. He was trapped.

Nadir looked straight up at the masked man. "Erik, please, let's end this. Aren't you tired of running by now?" Nadir said, attempting to coax Erik down from his perch.

"You never tire of chasing me. You never take a moment's breath. Why should I?" Erik spat at him, eyes narrowed by contempt. "Why can't you just leave me be?" There was pain in his voice Jim found disarming.

"We'll leave you be," said Emma, shocking Nadir. "You and Trilby. If you help us stop Hyde and tell us what's really going on here, we'll let you go. Talk to us, that's all we ask of you."

Nadir tried to protest but Emma shushed him. Erik stepped back into the shadows. They waited silently for the Phantom to make up his mind. After a moment of anticipation, Jim heard a pair of feet touch the ground. Erik had surrendered. He came out with his hands raised and his head bowed, trying to avoid their eyes.

"Handcuffs first, face second," Emma said to Erik. He got down on his knees and allowed Emma to cuff him. Killian handed the magic mask to Emma. Erik turned so they could not see him as Emma untied one mask and replaced it with the other. When he turned around, Erik was beautiful again and prepared to face Trilby outside.

Stripping away the decrepit ugliness, it was easier for Jim to read the emotion on Erik's face. He looked so defeated and broken. Jim couldn't help but feel sorry for him, regardless of the wicked things Nadir said he had done, regardless of his attempts to murder Emma and Killian. Especially Killian. How could anyone who dared hurt him earn Jim's sympathy? _"It's because you're a broken, lonely monster too,_ " said the little voice in Jim's head.

Emma and Nadir hauled Erik outside where Trilby and the others were waiting. Erik and Trilby locked eyes. "Mr. Svengali, what's happening? Is it really true?" Trilby said, nearly in tears. "Did you really do all those awful things?"

"I'll explain everything later, my dear," Erik told her. "I promise."

Quasimodo and Erik exchanged looks. Quasimodo flinched as Erik walked by, but Erik said and did nothing. David loaded him into the back of his car. Jim returned David's sword and thanked him for loaning it to him. David thanked him for rescuing his daughter. He was eternally in Jim's debt. That made Jim exceptionally uncomfortable, considering he briefly entertained the idea of letting Emma die. Trilby stood powerlessly as David, Emma, and Killian got inside and carried her mentor away. Jim, Nadir, Darius, Ruby, Quasimodo, and Regina all stood around her. Ruby placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," said Ruby. Trilby didn't reply. Instead she asked, "Can anyone take me back to the carnival? It's getting awfully late." She too sounded beyond defeated. Regina offered to bring her back home. Quasimodo needed to return as well, now that Erik had vacated the premises. Regina took their hands and they all disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

When they were gone, Ruby said to those remaining, "I can give you a lift back to Granny's, but we'll have to walk back to the theatre first." And so they did.

As they walked, Jim came to the realization that his duty to Nadir was now done. Svengali had been caught. Once the man was safely behind bars, none of this was Jim’s problem anymore. He didn’t owe anyone anything. He was condemned to be free.

The next morning, Jim failed to show up at the Sheriff's Department for Erik’s interrogation. It wasn’t in his job description to stick around for anything further. He woke up fairly early and couldn't get back to sleep. For once, he had all the sleep he needed. With nothing else to do, Jim decided have some breakfast and take a walk. Clear, blue sky surrounded him. The blue somehow struck him as melancholy.

At the station, Erik promised to divulge everything he knew about Hyde’s operation in exchange for a full pardon. It was beautiful news to all but Nadir, who demanded that Erik be taken to prison in Ingary immediately. Erik wasn't leaving, not until Hyde replaced him in his cell. Darius didn't care either way. He was just delighted by the successful hunt.

“Has anybody seen Jim?” Killian asked, sticking his head out of the interrogation room. “Shouldn’t he be here? This guy’s giving us everything.”

Jim was far away, trudging through a open field on the outskirts of town. Where was he going? Anywhere, really. Jim had to leave, that much was certain. He couldn't stay in Storybrooke, but he had no reason to return to Ingary. There was nothing now. From behind him, Jim heard the clip-clopping of hooves. He turned and saw a white stallion galloping toward him. On his back rode a knight in armor, a sword in his hand.

"You there!" the knight called out.

"Me?" asked Jim, startled by the oncoming horse.

"Who are you?" demanded the knight, dramatically pointing his sword at Jim's chest.

Jim was stunned by the whole situation. "Jim Hawkins? Who are you?"

The knight pulled back on the horse's reins and came to a stop. He sheathed his sword and dismounted the horse. "Don Quixote de la Mancha, at your service, sir." Jim tentatively shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you? What's with all the armor?" Jim asked.

"I'm off to slay the giants endangering your village!" proclaimed Don Quixote. "Have you seen where they've gone?"

Jim looked around. He'd never seen a giant before, but he imagined they'd be easy to spot. "Um... It's not really _my village_ and I haven't seen any giants. Sorry."

Don Quixote got back on his horse. "I'd get to safety if I were you, my friend. They could be upon us at any moment. Never fear! I will vanquish them single-handed for I am Don Quixote! Farewell!" The Don galloped away and out of sight. Jim stood there dumbstruck before continuing on his aimless path.

"What weird shit am I gonna see next in this town?" Jim asked himself. He came to the edge of Storybrooke Wilderness Park. He climbed over the wood fence. "Might as well take a walk through the woods."

Jim walked uphill through the forest for a while until he encountered a road. He followed the road to a stone bridge. Jim stood on the ledge of the bridge overlooking a deep gorge. He hesitantly dangled a single foot over the edge. Jim brought his foot back next to his other and just stared into the gorge for what felt like endless time. He could hear the watch. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Jim plucked it from his pocket and stepped down to safely get a good last look. The gold crocodile seemed to grin at him, like Mr. Gold laughing in his shop. The watch was mocking him again, every single second the hand vainly to move. Beside it, Killian’s young face beamed at him in the cruelest way. Jim couldn’t stand another tick. He closed the watch and, without hesitation, hurled it as far and as hard as he could into the gorge.

He could hear it hit the ground. Jim expected it to have shattered into a thousand sprockets and gears, but the size and shape of the gorge only magnified the sound of the ticking hands, still keeping perfect time.

Jim screamed. It echoed, but not enough to cover up the ticking from one hundred feet below. It would never go away as long as he lived. “I’ve lived too long already,” said Jim softly as he gazed into the ravine. He had one leg slung over the bridge’s side in a bid to climb back up when he heard another sound coming from inside the forest.

He turned his head around and listened for the noise to get closer. If it hadn’t been the middle of the day, Jim would have whipped out the crucifix he still had in his coat. He could make out a man’s voice calling out in some sort of frenzy. _“Maybe it’s just the Don again?”_ Jim thought.

Jim slowly backed away toward the other end of the bridge, just to be safe. He narrowed his eyes to see through the shade cast by the trees. A figure was coming toward him, practically howling. “Grace! Grace!” the shadowed figure seemed to say. Had he lost his dog or something? “Grace, where are you?”

Sensing that he wasn’t a danger – at least none that Jim couldn’t handle – Jim cautiously approached him. “Hello? Are you all right?”

Then, all at once, the man burst forth from the shadows. He was in a top hat and tails, extraordinarily overdressed for a walk in the woods. He tilted his head up. The shadow cast by the hat’s brim lifted. “Jefferson?” Jim gasped. “What are you doing out here?”

Jim moved toward him to offer aid, but Jefferson took several shaky steps backward. “You tell the Queen to make her own goddamn hat!" he snarled. He paused, scrutinizing Jim's face. "Wait... Don’t I know you?”

“Yeah, it’s Philip from the bar. Shit. I mean, it’s Killian. The detective? I have a lot I should probably tell you…” Jim felt that now probably wasn’t the best time. Jefferson didn't even appear to be listening. “Hello? Jefferson?”

Jefferson stood up straight and pointed the fickle finger of fate at Jim. “You’re the one who cut off my head!”

“What?” Jim blurted, mouth agape. Between his incoherent rambling and the glazed look in his eye, one thing was certain. Jefferson was out of his fucking mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The two songs La Svengali is shown singing are "Home" from Maury Yeston's 'Phantom' and "Glitter and Be Gay" from Leonard Bernstein's 'Candide', an extremely challenging piece for coloratura soprano. I'm a musical theatre geek, if that wasn't clear.
> 
> Also, I'm so glad the Phantom arc is over so now I can dig into the relationship between Jim and Jefferson. The Phantom will return for the musical chapter, I promise.


	11. Monsters and Madmen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim finds Jefferson reeling from Hyde's medication. With help from Anton and Don Quixote, he takes him to the hospital for an uncomfortable visit with Dr. Frankenstein. Jim calls upon Jefferson's coworker Izzy to help get him home.

_"Brain dead. That's what I am lying here. I'm brain dead. What a mess I got us into. Brain dead. Everybody's setting off alarms... Brain dead. Stupid and thoughtless is what I am, 'cause I'm brain dead and goddamn."_ \- "Brain Dead", _A New Brain  
_

* * *

Jefferson hid himself partially behind a tree. “I’m not going back! You hear me? I'm done!” he shouted from his ill-conceived hiding place. He must really have been delusional to think Jim couldn't see his ass poking out of the leaves. He continued yelling and Jim continued not having a clue what he was talking about. “It won’t work! I’ve tried and tried and tried and tried! It won’t fucking work!”

Jefferson darted from behind the tree and away from Jim. “Grace!” he began calling again, looking frantically around the woods. “Grace, where are you?” Jefferson turned to Jim and stormed towards him. “Where is she? Where is Grace?”

“Who’s Grace?” Jim asked, beginning to back away slowly.

He should have moved faster because, before he knew it, Jefferson had tackled him. “Where is she? Where’s the Queen keeping her?” Jefferson held Jim by the lapels of his coat. Their faces were inches apart. In another context, Jim might have enjoyed this, but Jefferson's murderous gaze and rancid breath really killed the mood.

“I know where she is,” Jim told him, nervously pulling some story out of his ass. “The Queen has her locked in her dungeon.” Jim’s hand slowly reached for a large stick nearby. “The Queen says that if you try to make a hat for her one more time, she’ll let Grace go free.”

Jefferson began to violently shake Jim. “I just told you! It won’t-!” Jim took the stick and clocked Jefferson in the head with it. Jefferson fell off of him and slumped onto the forest floor.

“Crazy son of a bitch,” Jim said, getting up and dusting off the dirt and leaves.

Looking down at Jefferson, he knew he couldn’t just leave him there. The man was a danger to himself and others. Who knows what else he would do in his current state? Much like he had with Hook, Jim bound Jefferson’s hands and feet. Without a rope, Jim had to make do with Jefferson's scarf and necktie. His belt wouldn't be tight enough.

“That ought to hold you. I guess I should get you to the hospital or something. Maybe they can put those cells to good use.” Which way was town again? The only thing Jim could see around them was trees. Even from the bridge, all he saw was the gorge. “I’ll be back soon,” he said to Jefferson’s unconscious body.

Jim dashed through the forest downhill until he reached an open field. From there, he saw a wine-colored barn and a little red farmhouse. Beanstalks rose ten feet high out of the garden. Running toward the farm, he caught sight of a familiar white horse. Great. Now Jim had two madmen on his hands. What a day. Over the hill, there was Don Quixote chatting about giants with a broad, curly-haired man holding a watering can.

“Hey! You!” Jim hollered, practically tumbling over the grass to meet them. He waved frantically then stopped, heart pounding in his throat.

Both the Don and the man he was speaking to approached as Jim caught his breath. "Are you okay?" asked the man. “What’s going on? Was something chasing you in there?” Don Quixote and the other man looked back at the woods.

"Was it a giant?" asked the Don, drawing his sword.

Jim shook his head, bracing his legs, still somewhat winded. He flailed his arm in the forest’s general direction. “There’s... a guy... in the woods. He’s... out of his mind. Rambling about... nonsense. Attacked me. I... knocked him out and... tied him up.” Jim fell over. “He needs serious help.” Jim then remembered he hadn't introduced himself. "I'm Jim."

The man leaned over and pulled Jim up into a handshake. He was so strong, Jim felt like a feather as he was set back on his feet. "The name's Anton," said the man. "And this..."

"Don Quixote de la Mancha!" the Don proclaimed proudly.

"We've met," said Jim. "Would you mind if we use your horse? There's a... princess who needs rescuing in the forest!"

Jim didn't need to say another word. Don Quixote eagerly let Jim lead both him and Anton through the woods and across the bridge to Jefferson. Anton's jaw went slack when he saw him face-down, hog-tied by his own accessories.

“Jefferson?” Anton gasped. He bounded over to him. “Wow, you sure tied him down tight,” he remarked. Anton threw Jefferson over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Jefferson was beginning to drift back into consciousness, moaning presumably from the pain in his head.

“You’re very tall,” Jim said, looking up at Anton and trying not to look at Jefferson’s ass slung over his shoulder. He tried not to laugh as poor Don Quixote searching through the brush for giant footprints.

“I’m actually pretty short for a giant. My brothers used to call me Tiny,” he said, lifting Jefferson and placing him on the Don's horse. "Don't tell the Don though. He's out looking for giants to kill. I think the poor guy might be worse off than Jefferson here. He keeps calling me 'Sancho.'"

Jim retied Jefferson's restraints to connect them to the saddle. Jefferson wasn't going anywhere without the horse. “A giant? Yeah, for a giant, I’d say you are pretty short,” Jim said. "As for Jefferson, he looked about ready to kill me back there, so I'd say they're both in pretty bad shape."

Anton agreed. “I used to be a lot bigger,” he said. “I've got Jefferson to thank for that. He used to make his living growing magic mushrooms. Although I learned that phrase has a different meaning here. He gave me some gardening tips when I first started my bean patch.”

Jim glanced over at the green spires protruding from the ground. “Yeah, those are massive stalks! I saw them while I was running down the hill from the forest.”

“Thanks!” Anton said somewhat proudly. “I know it fits the stereotype, a giant growing magic beans, but what can I say? It's a family business.”

Jim, Anton, and Don Quixote brought Jefferson out of the woods on the horse. The Don was thoroughly convinced that Jefferson was indeed some endangered damsel, but never questioned why they were keeping "her" tied to his steed. When they got to the farmhouse, Anton hurried inside to call the paramedics. Jim waited outside with the Don, Jefferson, and the horse, who Jim learned was named Rocinante.

Don Quixote was so stern and straight-backed, he looked like he would defend Jefferson with his life. "I think you can relax, Mr. Quixote. I think he- I think _she_ will be all right."

"Nonsense, boy! A princess this pure and lovely must be protected!" said the Don, not really concerning himself with Jefferson's face.

Jim looked over at Jefferson. His eyes were bugged. His jaw was slack. His hair was unwashed and his face was smeared with dirt. "I don’t know about pure, but she’s certainly lovely, all right," said Jim, half-joking and half-sincere.

Anton came back out of the house. "The paramedics are on their way. They should be here in about fifteen minutes." Jefferson started mumbling something about Grace. "They should have tranquilizers in case he starts acting fussy again. I wish I knew what caused this."

So did Jim. Jefferson seemed perfectly well when he last saw him. He remembered Jefferson acting a bit blank during their interview, but he had just seemed distracted. This was on a completely different level.

The paramedics arrived and sedated Jefferson before Jim untied him. They loaded him onto a stretcher and wheeled him into the car. Jim gave his thanks to Anton and Don Quixote before the medics shut the back door of the vehicle, sealing Jim and Jefferson inside.

Jim watched him sleep on the bumpy ride to the hospital. It felt creepy, but once the medics finished asking Jim questions, there was nothing left to do. Jefferson looked so peaceful. Jim noticed a small trickle of blood from a scratch where Jim struck him. He wished he hadn't done that, but he didn't know what else he could have done in that situation.

"What are you dreaming about?" Jim wondered. Hopefully nothing about hats or queens or decapitations. Jefferson's reality had been so surreal and dreamlike, Jim imagined that he might be dreaming of himself tending bar. Or whatever else Jefferson did with his life. Jim only knew two sides to this man - the charming bartender and the man howling in the woods. And now the mushroom farmer, Jim reminded himself. And the man with the mansion. He brushed the hair out of Jefferson's face. "You must contain multitudes."

Jim stayed by Jefferson's side as the vehicle took them from Anton's bean farm in the middle of nowhere to Storybrooke General Hospital, for yet another fateful meeting with Jefferson's friend and physician, Dr. Victor Frankenstein.

 

* * *

 

That same morning, as Jim was knocking Jefferson over the head with a fallen branch, and Erik was divulging all he knew about his associates in the Black Coats, Mr. Hyde and the Queen were waiting together by the lake outside the mansion. Both of them were looking out at the fog-covered waters in anticipation. Beside them was the corpse of Bertha Mason with a gold drachma stuck in her mouth. It was a little more than necessary, but viaticum were hard to come by in Maine.

”Is he coming or not?” Hyde asked irritably after ten or fifteen minutes.

The Queen didn't move her eyes away from the water. “He’ll be here.”

Sure enough, through the mist appeared a small wooden ferry boat, about the size of a gondola. A dark, hooded figure guided the craft with a long pole. As he came closer, Hyde noticed his tattered cloak, sunken eyes, and unkempt beard. The ferryman pulled up to the dock.

”Charon,” the Queen greeted him. “Long time, no see.”

Charon growled. He lifted Bertha’s soul from her body and helped her onto the ship. Bertha was so stunned looking at her own corpse that she couldn't even speak. One thing was sure. Her mind seemed much clearer without her brain getting in the way.

“Looking for another ride?" asked Charon sardonically. "I’m sure the boss would be just thrilled to see you again.”

"Is that... me?" Bertha shakily asked, pointing to the cadaver on the dock. Charon reached down and took the drachma from her mouth. He put it in his pocket like he had found it on the sidewalk.

"Please, darling. The adults are talking," said the Queen to Bertha's ghost. "Actually, we were hoping you could bring him to us, now that he can leave the Underworld and all. We have something that might be of interest to him.” Charon was unmoved. “Just give him this. He’ll know what it means.”

The Queen handed Charon an old, weathered copy of Mary Shelley’s _Frankenstein_. He flipped open the cover. Inside, the Queen had scribbled a note. _We have the man who cheated death. Bring us the Shears of Fate and he's all yours._

 

* * *

 

The medics took care of everything once they got to the hospital. Jefferson was wheeled away and Jim was left waiting once again in the cafeteria, worried about the fate of another friend. Jim used the last of his money on some soft-serve ice cream. That usually cheered Darius up. So Jim sat, waiting for news about Jefferson's condition.

Fortunately, Dr. Frankenstein seemed much more invested in Jefferson's health than Nadir's. He wasn't rushing to buy a straitjacket like he had bought all those stakes and garlic. That reminded Jim. There were still vampires on the loose. Thank God that Jefferson hadn't been attacked. Then again, it was broad daylight when Jim found him.

Jim went to the waiting room. He started reading old issues of _Psychology Today_. They were full of terms Jim hadn't heard before. Dissociation. Arrested development. Manic episodes. There were all sorts of disorders and symptoms and advertisements for medications for treating them. He never knew the human mind could be so complex.

His curiosity was piqued by an issue on sexuality, gender, and the brain. He learned more terminology. Heterosexual. Homosexual. Bisexual. Lesbian. Transgender. Gay. _"That sounds like... me,”_ Jim thought to himself, astounded to hear himself described in language that wasn’t a damning slur.  _"Is that all right here?_ " Before Jim could learn more, Dr. Frankenstein arrived with news.

Jim sprang to his feet and cut him off. “How’s Jefferson? Is he all right? Where is he?”

Frankenstein put up his clipboard like a shield against Jim’s questions. “Jefferson is doing just fine. He's asleep right now. Why don't you step into my office so we can talk?" Frankenstein asked.

Dr. Frankenstein led Jim through a door into his office, which had a very minimalist, monochrome aesthetic. They took seats on opposite ends of the desk. Frankenstein took a minute before speaking.

"I'd like to thank you for bringing Jefferson in," said the Doctor. "I'm sure you'll be happy to know that he didn't suffer any serious head trauma when you struck him."

"That's good," Jim replied. "I'm more concerned about... I don't even know what you'd call it. All the incoherent rambling. He was insane. He didn't even recognize me. What got into him?"

Frankenstein took a breath. "I'm not a psychiatrist. That's Dr. Hopper's specialty. However, it seems fairly clear that he was in some sort of dissociative fugue state. Why exactly is still uncertain, but that would explain his erratic behavior. The good thing about dissociative episodes is that they end. It was probably brought about by panic or stress. Jefferson is being sedated. When you see him, he should be more or less back to his normal self. At least, that's our hope. He's in a room right now. You can see him if you like."

Jim allowed Dr. Frankenstein to escort him from the office to the hospital room. Part of Jim was afraid of what he might see, but he realized that was silly. If anything, Jefferson should look better than when Jim found him. The nurses should have at least wiped the dirt off his face.

Dr. Frankenstein opened the door and there was Jefferson. He was lying in bed asleep in a hospital gown. Unlike Nadir, Jefferson didn't need any tubes attached to him. However, much like Nadir, Jefferson had been restrained to the bed.

"It’s just precautionary," the Doctor assured him. "You had the right idea tying him to that horse. I'll leave you alone for now. We should be getting his blood results back soon."

"Blood results?" asked Jim, but Dr. Frankenstein was already out the door. Jim sat down in a chair next to Jefferson's hospital bed. He looked over at Jefferson, sleeping soundly like in the medical van. His head appeared to be developing a bruise where Jim had hit him. Other than that, he looked like his usual handsome self. Well, he did have some sort of brace around his neck. Had Jim done that? He hoped not. "I am so sorry, Jefferson. Jeff. I don't know what happened to you, but I promise I'll be here till you get better."

That felt right to say. Jim needed a new purpose right now. While he figured out a new one for himself, taking care of Jefferson would have to do. Lord knows, no one else needed him. Jim was an utterly superfluous person. Soon, Jefferson began to stir, lightly groaning as he came back to consciousness.

"Jefferson?" Jim said softly. "Are you awake?"

Jefferson attempted to rub his eyes, but his hands were tied down. "Where am I? Why are my hands...?" He was too drowsy and medicated to finish his thought. Jim was thankful, at least, that he seemed to be where he was, and not somewhere some queen was forcing him to make hats.

Jim hushed him. "Everything's fine. You're in the hospital. You had a..." Jim didn't know what to call it. What had Frankenstein referred to it as? "You got sick. But you're gonna be all right. I promise. Just get some rest."

That seemed enough to placate Jefferson, who shut his eyes and let sleep overtake him again. After a bit, Dr. Frankenstein returned with fresh paperwork.

“I just got Jefferson’s blood results back,” Victor said, looking over the paperwork. “His lithium levels are strangely low for his current dosage. Moreover, the lab technicians reported a strange chemical compound in the blood sample. Hmm. That's... odd.”

“What is it?” asked Jim.

“The chemicals in his blood... May I speak to Jefferson alone, please? Doctor-patient confidentiality,” Victor asked. He put on a smile like nothing was wrong, but something was definitely fishy. Jim left the room, but he left the door cracked open. Dr. Frankenstein didn't seem to notice.

Victor nudged Jefferson awake. He didn't bother with the typical gentle bedside manner. "Jefferson, do you know why there’s a chemical compound from my private lab running through your bloodstream? The same one that was stolen a week ago?”

Jim was shocked. It seemed that the burgled had become the burglar. Jefferson, still weak and delirious, said something too quiet and incoherent for Jim to make out. Fortunately, Victor cleared things up quickly.

“You're the one who broke into my lab?” Victor asked loudly. Jefferson groaned out something that must have been a “yes”, because Victor stood up and said, “Why the hell would you do something like that? Who mixed the compound for you?”

"Jekyll," Jefferson croaked.

"Jekyll was abducted by the Queen over a week ago. Rumor has it, she's been seen working with Hyde," Victor told him. Jefferson nodded. Jim couldn't hear it, but Jefferson said, "They tricked me. So stupid..."

Victor was shaking his head. "Why though? I still don't understand. Why didn't you consult me before letting a total stranger mix drugs for you?" he asked, in disbelief at the state of his friend and the poor decisions that led him there.

Jefferson was too tired and foggy to articulate the nuances of the situation. He tapped two fingers against his cranium. Jim heard only one word. “Grace.” Who was this Grace? Whoever she was, Victor seemed to instantly get the picture.

“I see. Well, as your friend, I’m not going to contact the Sheriff's Department. They're ‘preoccupied’ as it is. However, as your doctor, I will have to alert Dr. Hopper,” Victor informed him, doing his best to be sympathetic. "He needs to know you've gone off your prescribed medication and you've had another episode. By the way your friend Mr. Hawkins described things, it sounds like the worst one yet."

“No!” Jefferson cried. "Please. You can't." Jefferson weakly held up his thumb and forefinger, moving them close but not touching them together. "So close."

Victor sighed. "All right. I won't. I'm going to synthesize something new for you that will neutralize the drugs as they leave your system. You're going to need lots of bed rest and water. You'll probably want to keep a bucket by the bed, just in case. I really don't know how what you took affects a living body. I guess we'll find out, won't we?"

Jefferson pressed his hands together then tore them apart. "Split," he said. What the hell did that mean? If it had something to do with Hyde... Jim desperately wanted to know more, but the conversation shifted into just more medical nonsense. Jim got up and walked around the hall for a bit. He got a drink at the water fountain. He looked longingly at the cache of food inside the vending machine, suddenly finding himself both penniless and starving.

He returned to the recovery room. The Doctor was gone and Jefferson was sitting up, awake but elsewhere. He looked like a hollow shell of a man. He didn't appear to notice Jim and Jim wondered if he ought to leave. "Hey," Jefferson said quietly, surprising him. Now that Jefferson was somewhat alert, the thought of talking to him set Jim a bit on edge. What would he even say?

"Hey," Jim echoed. "How are you feeling?"

Jefferson looked up at him. Physically, he looked a bit better. He definitely needed the rest. Emotionally though, Jefferson looked shot to hell. "Like shit," Jefferson answered.

"Yeah, well... I don't blame you," said Jim, walking awkwardly into the room. He sat back down in the chair by the bed. "You had me really worried. I'm glad you're all right."

"They want to keep me overnight to monitor me," said Jefferson. "If I don't die in my sleep, I should be safe to go home. Thank you for finding me out there. Victor told me what happened. This is so embarrassing. Please don't tell anyone about this."

Jefferson looked so desperate and exhausted. More than that, he was humiliated. His eyes, which refused to make contact with Jim's, were bloodshot and darkly ringed. No one was here for him except Victor and Jim, and Victor's assistance stopped at the hospital door.

"I won't tell anybody. I wouldn't know what to tell them anyway," Jim assured him. He wanted to ask him so many things. Who was Grace? Were the drugs related to Hyde? What exactly were they for? What a fucking mess.

Jefferson let out a breath. "Thank you," he whispered. Jefferson wasn't up for much conversation after that.

Jim wanted to stay and keep an eye on him longer, but eventually hunger got the best of him and the only free food in town was back at Granny's. He didn't have it in him to ask Jefferson if there was any cash in his wallet. That seemed, especially now, to be in exceptionally poor taste. Before Jim left the hospital, he stopped by Dr. Frankenstein's office once more.

"Hey, I'm taking off," said Jim, rapping his knuckles on the door. "I'll be back tomorrow to help get him home. If anything happens, call Granny's. They'll let me know."

Frankenstein held up his cell phone. "No problem. I've got Ruby on speed dial," he said. "I really wish I could give you a more optimistic prognosis here, but I have no idea what could happen to him."

"He said he might die in his sleep," Jim told him grimly.

Dr. Frankenstein shook his head, almost amused. "Jefferson's always had a somewhat dark sense of humor. Hearing that makes me think he might be getting better," Frankenstein assured him. "Even so, this has the potential to be a very bumpy ride for him. Or not. He was already in serious withdrawal when you found him, so my hope is that the worst is already over."

"Let's hope," said Jim. He turned to leave, but remembered a question he'd wanted to ask. "Hey, Doc, why exactly is Jefferson wearing that thing around his neck? Did I...?"

"What thing? Oh, the neck brace. No. That's..." Dr. Frankenstein hesitated. "That's for keeping his head straight for... maximum blood flow. It, uh, helps the drugs reach his brain faster."

The explanation seemed a little suspect, but Jim was just glad he hadn't caused any additional injuries. He said goodbye and left the office. Before leaving the hospital, Jim stopped by Jefferson’s room one last time. He didn't go in. He just took one more look at Jefferson, who was now fast asleep again. His heart rate monitor steadily beeped. Still alive.

Jim left the hospital in the afternoon and began an arduous walk back to the diner. His anxiety and hunger were at war in his stomach. At least, the weather was still nice. It made the walk less agonizing than it could have been. He arrived, said hello to Ruby and Dorothy, and ordered a late lunch. He only ate half, reserving the other half for Nadir. Then he remembered Nadir was upstairs, getting three square meals a day now.

"Would you like that boxed up?" asked Dorothy, accustomed to saving Jim's leftovers. Jim shook his head. "Was something wrong with it?"

"No, I'm just not very hungry today," Jim said. Dorothy took the plate away.

Jim went upstairs and told Nadir and Darius what had happened. Nadir didn't know Jefferson, but Darius was shocked. He wanted more information, but Jim was too in the dark to give any more definitive answers. Nadir changed the subject and gave Jim a full report on what Erik had said at the police station. Jim wasn’t terribly interested, but he was happy that Nadir's enthusiasm for catching his nemesis brought back the energy that the vampires seemed to have sucked out of him.

"Hyde and his ilk came here in search of magic Storybooks," Nadir explained. "They believe severing ties to the stories in them will allow them to change the course of their futures. They had each gone to Ingary for temporary protection from the foregone conclusions that some magical Author had written for them. According to Svengali, I was his foregone conclusion, chasing him forever, on and on till one of us finally dies." Nadir paused and stared out the window, looking like he was questioning every decision he ever made. "'Why won't you leave me alone?' he said. For the first time, I wasn't sure I had an answer."

"And the others?" Jim asked.

Nadir threw up his hands. "The Black Coats kept so much from each other, even their names. Erik's purpose was obfuscation and diversion, smuggling them aboard _The Albatross_ in his circus wagons. Then he used his little side show to draw attention from Hyde and the rest. Erik defected on the grounds that we would promise to fulfill what Hyde had promised him - severing him from his written destiny forever."

"And you too, by the sounds of it," said Jim. "I know the guy's a monster, but why do you have to be the one to deal with him?"

"I'm responsible for him," Nadir said. After a long pause, he added, "And I'm the only friend he has."

Jim didn't expect Nadir to ever say that. He spent so long expounding on what a nightmare Svengali was. Jim assumed Nadir loathed him. "Friend? I thought you hated this guy."

"Such things aren't always mutually exclusive," Nadir told him. "He wasn't always such a monster. The world saw his ugliness and turned against him. It made him that way. He could have been so much more, but he grew up in a freak show not unlike the one you saw him running. I almost caught him in Paris. He dropped an entire chandelier on audience full of people, all because he was obsessed with some chorus girl. Now history repeats itself with Miss O'Farrell, I'm afraid, but he wouldn't cooperate if we told her the truth about him."

"Maybe he could be different," Jim said. "If this whole deal with the Storybooks is true, isn't it possible that he could change? Maybe this is what he needs."

Nadir scoffed. "He is too far gone for that! Or do you not remember him trying to hang your ex-lover in the theatre? Or Miss Swan in the church? Svengali is a mad dog. Setting him free will only mean more misery."

Jim was grateful that Darius was out of the room when Nadir referred to Killian as his "ex-lover". He didn't want to argue with Nadir. Nadir had his mind clearly made up about Erik and it wasn't any of Jim's business interfering. Despite Erik's misdeeds, even assaulting Killian with his noose, Jim couldn't help feeling the slightest bit sorry for him.

"So what's the next step then?" asked Jim, moving the conversation along. "What do we do with this information?"

"We?" Nadir said, surprised. "Darius and I are going to negotiate taking Svengali back to Ingary as planned. What are you going to do? Are you coming?"

Jim glanced around the room as if an answer would be written on the walls. "I don't know. I haven't decided."

"Well, you don't have much longer to make up your mind," Nadir informed him. "The portal generator is almost working. Captain Nemo wants to leave as soon as we possibly can. I told him you no longer had plans to kill your pirate. He said that you'd be welcome back aboard _The Nautilus_ if you wish."

"That's decent of him," said Jim, not particularly caring about Nemo's opinion of him or his decisions. "I'll let you know soon."

After their talk, Jim retired to his room. It wasn't even five o'clock yet. Jim became very aware of how little there was to do in there. All he had was a stack of books he already read, from which he already gleaned any useful information. He decided he might as well bring them back to the library. Whether he was staying in Storybrooke or returning to Ingary, he at least ought to have his affairs in order.

Jim picked up _Treasure Island._ "What a crock of shit," he said, stuffing it into the book bag. Then he grabbed _Peter and Wendy_. "This thing mentions Silver of all people, and not once mentions me." Between the two stories, it seemed that this world's authors determined that Killian and Jim's relationship was of no consequence. That was fitting. Killian seemed to have the same opinion.

He took the bag of books and brought them up the street to the library. It was closed, so Jim just slid them through the return slot. Too bad. Jim was hoping to see Belle one last time, if indeed it was the last time. Jim wadded up the bag and stuffed it into one of his coat's voluminous pockets. For the rest of the day, he just ambled aimlessly about town.

Storybrooke was a nice, quiet place. It seemed as good a place as any to retire. Or expire. Whatever happened, Jim knew he'd be leaving the pirate hunting profession, his mission forever incomplete. He couldn't stay in Storybrooke with Killian here. There were too many memories, too much pain watching him be happy without him. Too many lies to tell over and over and over. There wasn't anything left in Ingary though. So now what? Back to the bridge? Not while Jefferson needed him at the hospital tomorrow.

Eventually, Jim tired himself out and went back home to Granny's, where he had a light dinner and went to bed early. No dreams again. It was nice. Jim awoke at almost noon to a knock at his door. Misery washed back over him like a bucket of ice water. Just how long had he been asleep? He must have needed it. Jim got up groggily and stumbled over to the door. There was Ruby, holding a phone in her hand.

"Did I wake you?" she asked. Jim said no, despite the bleary look in his eyes being evidence to the contrary. "The hospital's on the phone. They asked for you."

"Oh shit." Jim reached out and took the phone from Ruby, who stood by concernedly. "Hello? Yes, this is him." Did something happen to Jefferson? Was he all right?

The person on the other end cleared their throat. "Good morning, Jim. This is Dr. Frankenstein. I'm calling to give you an update on Jefferson's condition."

"How is he? Did something happen?" Jim asked hastily.

The Doctor's tone was much more casual, but Jim didn't want to let his guard down until he heard the words that Jefferson was fine. "No, no. Jefferson is all right. He's awake and having a late breakfast. He had a night terror last night and he's got a headache, but we think he should be safe to discharge. We're running a few more tests, but we should know within the hour. He's in no fit state to be driving though. He's still a bit disoriented with brain fog and blurry vision."

"I don't have a my own car," Jim said, at a bit of a loss.

"I can give you another ride," Ruby told him. She smiled sympathetically, despite having almost no clue what was going on.

Jim smiled back. "You know what, Doc, I think I'll be able to get him home after all. Ruby's gonna drive me."

"That's great. I'll call you again when we know for sure," said Dr. Frankenstein. He hung up the phone.

Jim handed the phone back to Ruby. Frankenstein called again in about forty-five minutes, while Jim was having a late breakfast of sausage and French toast. He immediately abandoned it when he learned that Jefferson was ready for discharge. Ruby tossed her apron to Dorothy and they were off.

Once at the hospital, Jim fast-walked from Ruby’s convertible all the way to Jefferson’s room. Ruby had to hustle to keep up. In the room, Jim was surprised to find Jefferson out of bed, fully dressed, and sitting in a wheelchair. An ascot had replaced the brace from the day before. Ruby entered and, upon seeing Jefferson, rushed to his side.

”Oh my God, Jeff, what happened to you?” she asked, kneeling next to him.

”Relax,” he told her. “The chair is just to take me out of the hospital.” 

Ruby stood back up. “Even so...” She tried to examine the bruise Jim left on his head. Jefferson jerked his head away. It seemed it was a bit tender.

Dr. Frankenstein entered the room to transfer care of Jefferson over to Jim, paperwork in hand. He handed Jefferson the patient discharge form. Despite what Jim said on the phone, he still seemed taken aback to see Ruby there.

”Hey, Vic,” said Ruby, with a little wave.

”Hey, Ruby. How’ve you been lately?” Victor replied with a slight smile. She was just about the only person Jim saw him look at fondly.

Ruby shrugged. “Better than this one.” She pointed to Jefferson. “What happened to him?”

Jefferson's hand was trembling as he tried to sign the papers. Victor and Jim looked to Jefferson, than to each other, unsure of what anyone should say. Jefferson had made it clear he wanted this to be a private matter.

”Car wreck,” Jefferson said. Victor and Jim instantly agreed. “It’s okay. The damage wasn’t that bad. Just a mild concussion. The car looks worse.”

”Who did you hit?” Ruby asked.

Jefferson didn’t have an answer ready, so Jim cut in. “It's my fault. He was swerving to avoid hitting me. I was walking in the middle of the road last night. He turned a corner... I’m still not used to sharing the road with cars. I should have known better.” Jim pretended to be embarrassed and ashamed of himself.

“It’s okay. I’m insured,” Jefferson said with a weak, unconvincing smile.

"Oh, speaking of insurance," said Victor, handing Jefferson another form to struggle to fill out.

Ruby didn’t quite know what to say. Jim had been unbelievably stupid - or so she thought - and could have seriously hurt Jefferson. But Jim knew that. She didn’t need to remind him. Suddenly, her phone began to ring. It was Granny. Ruby took the call outside and quickly returned.

”Guys, I am really sorry,” she said. “That was Granny on the phone. The diner is just slammed right now. They're really short-staffed today because Floyd is out sick and Violet is on vacation in Connecticut. I’ve got to get back there before things really get out of hand. Do you have another way to get to Jefferson’s?”

Jim was a little bit annoyed, but Jefferson took it in stride. ”Don’t worry about it,” said Jefferson. “I have options.”

Ruby apologized again and saw herself out. The three men breathed a sigh of relief as the clicking of her heels disappeared down the hall. Losing their ride home was inconvenient, but at least they weren't having to rapidly construct a story in front of anyone. Jim was so tired of thinking on his feet.

”Well, that was an impressive exercise in dishonesty,” said Victor judgmentally.

”Thanks,” Jim and Jefferson said at the same time. They looked at each other and almost laughed. It seemed they had more morally dubious things in common besides burglary. Jefferson reached inside his pocket for his phone. His hands were so shaky, he could hardly input his passcode. Jim took the phone from him.

”Who do you want to call?” Jim asked.

”Izzy,” Jefferson told him. “She won’t ask too many questions.”

Jim found Izzy’s contact information and dialed her up. She very irritably informed Jim that he had woken her up after a long closing shift at The Rabbit Hole. Her annoyance evaporated when Jim told her that Jefferson had been hospitalized.

”I’ll be right there,” she said soberly before hanging up.

After finishing up the paperwork, Jim wheeled Jefferson through the hospital to the sidewalk outside. As they walked, Dr. Frankenstein informed Jim of all the things Jim already overheard while eavesdropping the day before. Bed rest. Plenty of water. Possible vomiting. Jefferson had thrown up once in the night already. Victor looked like he had something he wanted to say to Jefferson as he held out his new prescription in a white paper bag.

"What?" Jefferson asked. Victor's hands were almost as shaky as Jefferson's. "If you have something to say, just say it, Victor."

Victor pursed his lips. "I just can't believe you. _Me_ , of all people," he said, tossing the bag into Jefferson's lap. And on that sour note, he went back inside.

Jefferson knew he stepped in it, but he didn't want to address it with Jim. Jim and Jefferson waited in silence for Izzy to pull up in her vehicle. Fortunately, she didn't take long. She arrived in an old, acid green car much like Emma’s, just as small and twice as ugly.

Jefferson unsteadily got out of the chair. Jim held open the door to the passenger seat and helped him inside. Then Jim hopped in the back. Izzy’s car was a heaping mess of discarded food wrappers, receipts, and miscellaneous junk. Jim had to make room for himself to sit and couldn't even find the buckle.

”Wow, Jeff, you look like hell. What happened?” Izzy asked, shifting into drive.

”Car accident,” he mumbled, looking distantly out the window.

"Uh-huh. And what _really_ happened?” she asked. Jim could see her raise an eyebrow in the mirror.

Jefferson sighed. What was he going to tell her? “Medication,” he said vaguely.

”Okay, I get it. You don’t have to tell me. It’s probably better if I don’t know.” She briefly turned to Jim before putting her eyes back on the road. “I take it that you're the one who found him having problems with his 'medication?' _Killian_ , right?”

“Actually, it’s Jim,” he said, completely ignoring anything to do with how he found Jefferson.

Izzy looked at him through the mirror suspiciously. “Do I know you? You look kinda familiar now that you shaved and hacked all that hair off.”

”I don’t think so,” Jim said. “I’m pretty new in town.”

”I’m a recent transplant myself,” Izzy told him. “Used to live in Neverland. Maybe you’d know me better by my old name. Folks used to call me Tinker Bell.”

Jim knew that name. He read it in Killian’s book. Tinker Bell was supposed to be a fairy. Izzy was short, but not that short. “Aren’t you a little, uh, big to be Tinker Bell?”

”Fairies can get big when they want," Izzy said. "I’m sort of a retired fairy anyway. That’s why I work with this jackass instead of at the church with the rest of them.”

Would that have been the church where Erik was arrested? “Our Lady of Eternal Hope?” Jim asked.

”That’s the one," Izzy confirmed. "Although ever since the curse here broke, it seems like a lot of them have become less devout. Not married to Jesus anymore.”

Who the hell was Jesus? All the fairies were married to one guy? Maybe it was some kind of cult after all. And what was this about a curse? Ever since he got to Storybrooke, people had been alluding to different curses. It was making Jim's head spin.

"Can we not talk?" Jefferson groaned. "I've still got a splitting headache."

The rest of the ride to Jefferson's was spent in silence. Izzy was not a particularly good driver. She came to stops abruptly and turned corners much too sharp. The ride to save Snow from the Invisible Man had been bumpy, but Emma was at least in rush to protect her mother. It didn't seem like Izzy totally knew what she was doing. Then again, she and Jim were both new to this world. He probably couldn't do much better.

Izzy pulled up to Jefferson's driveway. The mansion loomed over them. Something about it seemed to say, "Not you again." It was going to be uncomfortable taking care of Jefferson in the home he robbed, but Jim didn't have much of a choice. He opened Jefferson's door and helped him out. Jefferson fumbled with the keys to the front door. He dropped them and swore at himself. Jim picked them up and unlocked the door for him. Jefferson exhaled resentfully through his nose and went inside.

"So, I guess I'm probably picking up your shift again," Izzy said as Jefferson disarmed the burglar alarm.

"I'm sorry," said Jefferson, leaning wearily against the door frame. "You shouldn't be having to clean up my mess like this."

Izzy held up her hand. "Don't worry about it. It's more money for me anyway. Listen, I'll talk to the boss for you and let him know what happened. Are we sticking to the car wreck story?"

"It's what I told Ruby. Can't afford to have conflicting narratives floating around," Jefferson said. Jim related so much to that. "Tell him I hit a tree avoiding a customer that was walking down the middle of the road." He pointed his thumb at Jim.

"Well, he'd better become our best customer if that's going to mean anything." Izzy smirked at Jim. Jefferson walked up the stairs to the main level. Lowering her voice, Izzy said, "Listen, you take care of him, all right? I've seen him in bad shape before, but never like this. He doesn't like accepting help from people, so don't take no for an answer."

Jim didn't need to be told twice. "I've got nothing better to do," he said. "I'll be here until he's back on his feet."

"Thank you," Izzy said. She leaned back and took another look at Jim. "Are you sure I don't know you from somewhere?"

"Pretty sure," Jim told her, hoping to God she wasn't someone he met in Neverland.

Izzy called out to Jefferson in the house. "I'm taking off, Jeff! Give me a call later! I want to know how you're doing!"

"Will do!" Jefferson shouted back with little enthusiasm. They said their goodbyes and Izzy drove away in her little green death trap.

Jim shut the door and turned his attention to the top of the stairs. He caught a glimpse of Jefferson's heel as he disappeared behind a wall. Jim followed after him. As he walked, Jefferson discarded his coat onto the carpet and abandoned his scarf in a similar fashion. He turned the corner into a room that appeared to be a study of some kind. Staggering a bit, Jefferson made his way to a leather armchair and completely collapsed on it. He had been using all of his energy to keep himself together in front of Isabelle. Now that Jefferson was at home, he felt perfectly comfortable coming completely unglued.

"Would you like me to get you some water... or something?" Jim asked as Jefferson's eyes drooped and his head followed suit. Jefferson had fallen asleep sitting haphazardly in his chair not five minutes after getting home. Should Jim leave him there? Should he wake him and help him to bed? Something told Jim he was going to be faced with a lot of difficult decisions in the next few days. He got started with hanging up Jefferson's coat in the hall closet. He wrapped the scarf around the neck of the hanger.

"That's done. Now what?" Jim asked himself. A low rumbling sound came out of the study. Jim poked his head back in. "Oh good. He snores."

 

* * *

 

After Jefferson left the hospital with Jim, Dr. Frankenstein reentered his office to prepare to meet with another patient. It was dark inside, except for some light trickling in through the blinds. He flipped the lights on and was startled to see a large man in a black hooded coat sitting at his desk. The man was playing with a magnetic decorative bauble that Victor received as a white elephant gift at Christmas.

”I’m sorry to keep you waiting,” said Victor. “They didn’t tell me I had an appointment scheduled.”

The man continued to fiddle with the object, facing away from Victor. He had his hood up indoors, which was ominous. ”Don’t worry. I had them clear your afternoon,” said a low, all-too-familiar voice. It was a voice Victor hadn't heard in years, but it haunted his nightmares to this day. All the color drained from Victor’s face.

"What is it I can help you with today?" Victor stammered. It couldn't be. It wasn't possible.

The man turned around and removed his hood. “For starters, I've been having these pains in my neck," said the man, pointing to two scars on either side. They looked like cigarette burns. His skin was sallow and jaundiced. His hair was thinning irregularly. His grinning teeth were as yellow as an ear of corn. All in all, the man looked like the waxwork of a handsome man that had been left out in the sun. Positively monstrous. "It's nice to see you, Victor."

"What are you doing here? How did you find me?” Victor panicked.

Victor backed away toward the door but the Monster locked it with a snap of his fingers. “Unlike you,” said the Monster, rising from his seat, “I didn’t mind learning a little magic, especially after the last time you evaded me.” He towered over Victor, who was eclipsed by his shadow. "It wasn't my intent to find you, although I did know you would be here."

”So you’ve come to kill me? Is that it?” Victor asked, sure the answer was yes.

”No, actually,” replied the Monster. “I’ve come here with a higher purpose in mind. Why don’t we go somewhere and talk? Some place a bit less... sterile.”

Victor, shaking in his boots, nodded his head in agreement. The Monster snapped his fingers again. The door unlocked. He set his hand on Victor's shoulder and gripped it like a metal clamp. Victor didn't know where the Monster was taking him or what they were going to discuss. He was sure of one thing though. If it was anything like before, someone Victor loved was likely going to die.


	12. Window to the World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim helps Jefferson recuperate at home, including helping him host a poker night with his friends, August and Killian. Awkwardness ensues.

_“If you are lonely, then you will know, if someone needs you, you love them so.” -_ “As Long as He Needs Me”,  _Oliver!_

* * *

The Queen and Hyde returned from the lake and waited in the parlor for news from a man Hyde referred to only as ‘The Doctor.’ It was him who was going to procure the other doctor, Dr. Victor Frankenstein, for them. Now that Erik had defected and Thomas was dead, they would need to rely more heavily on the other Black Coats, namely the Doctor and the De Villes.

“Do you want me to go take him out?” asked the Queen. “I’ll be in and out real quick.”

“No,” said Hyde. “I purposefully disseminated information sparingly amongst the group. If one of us was ever compromised, they would only have their piece of the puzzle. Erik’s piece was his technical prowess and diversionary skill, things which we no longer require. He’ll have very little to tell them and trying to silence him would be a waste of precious time.”

The Queen crossed her legs and resituated herself in the armchair. “So, what’s next then? I really don’t like being kept in the dark. The Shears are on their way. We’ve got the books. All your test subjects sans the Spaniard are dead now, which seems like bad news for us. What else do we need to reach this benefactor of yours? Who even is he? What’s his deal?”

“ _She_ ,” Hyde corrected, “is a powerful being trapped in the Netherworld. Have you heard of this place?”

“Not exactly. Enlighten me,” said the Queen dryly.

Hyde brought out some diagrams and maps to show her. “Each world has its own material existence, but some worlds – magical worlds – possess echoes that are accessible only through magic. The fair folk can cross between them easily. For mortals, it’s much more complicated. This dark entity was able to project herself into my realm and save me at my darkest moment. She created a path from London to the land of Ingary, where I began my research on not only separating myself from Jekyll, but also freeing her from her prison. In return, she promises to sever our fates permanently. Then we would both be free, and I'll be free to kill him once and for all.”

“So how do we reach her?” asked the Queen, captivated. The information on its own was fascinating, but the way Hyde said it… The Queen could listen to his sultry baritone for hours.

“The problem is two-fold,” Hyde explained. “We have to break through the barrier between realms to reach her, but we must also break the curse binding her to the dark realm. The first is easy enough. The one who the De Villes call ‘the Master’ holds the key to travelling to the Netherworld and back. The issue is the second. We still do not have the knowledge or means to break the spell.”

The Queen sat on Hyde’s desk and pondered. “Would true love’s kiss work?” she suggested, leaning in for a kiss of her own. “It worked for Hades and Persephone.”

Hyde shook his head and denied her. “Sadly, this creature has no true love. Unless I am mistaken, only the power of the caster can undo the spell and return her to the material plane.”

“So, who cast the spell that banished her?” asked the Queen.

Hyde flipped through a small paperback book from a stack on his desk. “Signor Carlo Collodi described her as the Fairy with the Turquoise Hair. Her real name – her secret name, I’m told – is Gloriana, Queen of Elphame. She was a pupil of the great Queen Mab, descendant of Titania and Oberon. I understand the denizens of the Enchanted Forest have another name for her: the Blue Fairy.”

 

* * *

 

Later, on the day of his return, Jefferson awoke in his study. His headache had diminished a bit, but his vision was still a tad blurry. He had completely forgotten how he’d gotten there or what happened that day. So much so, that when Jefferson looked over at Jim slouched down in a chair from the dining room, he was taken completely by surprise.

“Who are you? What are you doing in my house?” Jefferson said, blinking his eyes in a vain attempt to clear them.

Jim looked up from a copy of _The Hunchback of Notre Dame._ He shut the book, fully prepared to use the dense volume as a defensive weapon if Jefferson was having another episode. “Jefferson, it’s me. It’s Jim,” he calmly told him. “Remember? I brought you home from the hospital.”

Jefferson took a breath and began to calm down. “Right. Sorry about that. I just woke up and I guess I must have forgotten. How long was I asleep for?”

Jim checked the grandfather clock in the corner. “Only about an hour,” he said. “Maybe an hour and a half. You passed out right after we got you home.”

“We? Oh right, Izzy," Jefferson began to recall. “What did we tell her? About this?” Jefferson motioned between them, then to the room.

“You said it was medication,” Jim told him. “She didn’t ask for details. Then you told her to say it was a car accident if anyone asked about it.”

Jefferson got up and rubbed his eyes, barely holding his balance. “Okay, that’s good I guess,” Jefferson yawned. Then he had a thought. “Where _is_ my car? The last thing I remember before I blacked out… I think I left my car somewhere in town.”

Jefferson swiftly but shakily left the study and rushed back down the stairs. Jim tailed him, afraid he'd hurt himself. Jefferson opened a door in the basement leading into the garage. In one of the stalls, there was a gorgeous black Jaguar. The other was empty. “Shit. We have got to go find it. Now.”

He stumbled into the garage, completely missing a step. Jim was unsure if he needed help walking. Jefferson walked like he didn’t quite know where to put his feet.

“Uh, not in your condition,” Jim told him, making the treacherous step into the garage. Jefferson produced the keys to the Jaguar. Jim snatched them out of his hand. “I can help you get it tomorrow. Right now you’ve got to rest.”

“If they _see_ it, they’ll know I didn’t _crash_ it,” Jefferson countered, talking like he thought Jim was dense. “I’ve got to cover my tracks here.”

Jim huffed. He really hoped Jefferson wasn’t going to be this obstinate about everything. He looked behind him at the parked Jaguar. “You know…” he said, “you never told anybody which car you crashed.”

“What are you getting at?” Jefferson asked, following Jim’s line of sight. When he turned back, Jim had grabbed a sledgehammer from Jefferson’s wall of tools. He connected the dots. “No! You are not smashing my car!” He tried to grab the hammer, but floundered.

“How bad was the wreck?” Jim asked, poised to strike. He looked to Jefferson for the go-ahead. Jefferson thought it over. “Come on. You want to have a straight story or not? I’m not taking you out to get the other one today, so it’s this or nothing.”

Jefferson sighed. Jim was somehow both too daring and not daring enough. But he had a point. “I said I hit a tree. Start from the center of the bumper and work inward. I’ll tell you when to stop.” Jefferson turned and walked away.

As he stood in front of Jefferson’s car, Jim thought about all the things he pictured himself doing today. Bringing Jefferson dinner, making sure he took his medication. He didn’t imagine he’d be smashing a car with a giant mallet. _“Life sure takes you strange places_ ,” Jim thought as he drove the hammer into the hood of the car.

The car alarm went off, scaring the hell out of Jim. Jefferson held the key up and turned it off, letting Jim get back to work. Jim was going to ask about the alarm until he saw Jefferson open a bottle of wine and take a swig. “Should you really be drinking right now?” Jim asked, very concerned and very hypocritical.

“I’ve had one hell of a week,” Jefferson said, wiping his mouth. “Please resume demolishing my car.” Jefferson took another drink.

Jim took another swing. He’d never seen a wrecked sportscar before, so he hoped he was doing a convincing job. Jefferson leaned against a supporting beam and watched Jim work. The metal crunched beneath the weight of the hammer. Glass from the crushed headlights went flying. Jim was trying to carve out the shape of a tree, not having any clue what the parts of the car were for or how they connected.

Eventually, Jim must have created a convincing crash, because Jefferson called out, “Stop! That’s enough! I want Marco to be able to fix this when I take it into the shop later.”

Jim set down the sledgehammer. Jefferson began patting his pockets, looking for something. “Don’t tell me I lost that too. God dammit. Oh, here it is.” He pulled out his phone and took some pictures of the damage. “Just in case people want evidence.”

The two of them returned to the parlor upstairs. Jefferson took his wine bottle with him. They both crashed onto the plush furniture in the parlor. Spent, Jim said, “Well, that was fun.” He flung himself headlong onto a chaise.

Jefferson breathed a sigh of relief. The Jaguar might be wrecked, but at least he could back up his story. Drastic measures leading to drastic consequences needed even more drastic measures to cover them up. “Fun for you. I got to watch you take a sledgehammer to my favorite ride. Do you have any idea how much that’ll cost to repair?”

“You can afford it,” said Jim, looking around at all of Jefferson’s fancy stuff.

Jefferson caught him glancing at the grand piano. “I’m not as rich as I look,” Jefferson told him. “And depending on how sympathetic my boss is, I might be out of a job. There’s no way I can go into work like this.”

“If we just do what Frankenstein said-”

Jefferson clenched his fist. “I don’t give a shit what Victor said!” He let out a breath, regretting his tone.

“He’s your doctor,” Jim asserted. “If you want to get better, you need to do what he says.”

“That has not been my experience with doctors. Look, I have a lot of fires to put out right now,” said Jefferson. “I don’t have time for bed rest.” Jefferson paused. “Excuse me a moment.”

Jefferson walked as slowly as possible into the kitchen. Jim heard a retching sound, followed by another, then a quieter third. Water ran. Jefferson swore under his breath. A moment later, Jefferson returned as if nothing happened, trying to maintain his dignity.

“As I was saying, I don’t have time for bed rest right now,” he said. “I have a car to find, a job to save-”

“You just threw up in the sink,” Jim countered.

Jefferson picked a piece of lint off the upholstery. “I’m aware of that,” Jefferson said matter-of-factly. “Your point being…?”

Jim cocked his head and stared at him. He could tell he broke Jefferson’s resolve, because the ailing man decided to change the subject to him. "So," Jefferson said, sitting up on the couch. "Your name's Jim, huh?"

Jim knew this conversation was coming. "Yeah, Jim Hawkins," he answered, glad to be coming clean.

Jefferson stared toward the ceiling. "Why does that name ring a bell?" he asked, getting lost in the crystals on the chandelier.

"You ever read _Treasure Island_?" Jim asked in response.

Jefferson shook his head. "Heard of it," he said, still blankly looking into the distance.

"Well, that's me. I'm sorry for giving you a fake name at the bar. I..." It was just occurring to Jim that Killian and Jefferson were friends and Jim had given him Killian's name. "Aw, fuck."

Jefferson’s attention snapped back to Jim. “I had a hunch it was a phony name. Gotta say, it really weirded me out. So what's the deal with you and Hook, anyway? Is it some kind of pirate thing?" asked Jefferson. Jim was about to give Jefferson the speech he rehearsed for Emma, but Jefferson stood up and started hobbling away again. "You know what? I honestly don't really care. You're not going to kill him, are you?"

Jim froze up as Jefferson disappeared into the hall. That wasn't the plan anymore, but why would Jefferson even think that to begin with? "Why would I kill him?" He tried to laugh it off.

"Like I said, we don't get a lot of new faces,” said Jefferson, standing in the arch of the hallway. “Usually when somebody new shows up in town, they're here for some hare-brained revenge scheme. But as long as you're not planning on murdering my friend, I really don't care about the details."

That was a relief. Jim didn't want to lie to Jefferson anymore. The man already had too much rattling around his addled brain. Jefferson didn't want to tell Jim about the drugs that made him lose his mind, so Jim saw no reason to disclose anything important about himself. They didn't need to know everything about each other. The only thing that mattered was making sure Jefferson was all right going forward.

"You know, you really don't have to hang around. I think I've got things under control," said Jefferson. Then he tripped and fell. Jim ran to help him up. "It's fine! I'm fine! It's just a little vertigo. I think I need to just lie down for a minute."

Jefferson walked further down the hallway without bothering to turn on the light. Jim followed after him. Suddenly, Jim was in a familiar room. It was Jefferson's bedroom, the room Jim burglarized on his first day in Storybrooke. Jefferson sat down on the foot of his bed and started prying off his shoes. His fingers were too unsteady to undo the laces.

"Fuckin' hell," Jefferson cussed under his breath. He looked pathetically at Jim. He was too proud to say it, but his eyes said, "Please help me." Jim knelt down and undid Jefferson's double-knotted shoelaces. Jefferson yanked off the loose shoes, not wanting to be completely helpless. "Why are you here? Why are you helping me?" Jefferson asked as Jim set his shoes neatly by the wall.

"I don't know. I'm not doing anything else," Jim said. "Why don't we get your pajamas on and then I can get you something to eat? Sound good?"

"I think I can put on my own pajamas," said Jefferson, but he added, "They're in the second drawer in the armoire by the closet."

Jim dug through Jefferson's dresser to find some comfortable clothes. He found some old gray sweatpants and a shirt that bore the emblem of a band called The Ramones. Those would probably do.

"Uh... it's a little chilly," Jefferson said apprehensively, rubbing his neck. "Could you get me a sweater out of the closet? One of the turtlenecks?"

Jim wasn't cold, but maybe withdrawal was giving Jefferson chills. He went back to the closet he robbed weeks ago and fished around for more clothing. He found a plain black turtleneck sweater. Perfect. As he turned around, Jefferson had a sudden realization.

“Now I know where I’ve seen that shirt before!” Jefferson began, pointing at Jim's chest. “It was in my closet! Were you the one who broke into my house?”

Now Jim was getting chills. He knew this was going to happen sooner or later. In another circumstances, maybe he could have been dishonest and deflected, but he couldn’t bring himself to it. “Yes," Jim confessed. "I needed clothes to help me blend in here and I didn't have any money. I am so sorry. I also may have taken some of your money.”

"I had to pay to fix that, you know!" Jefferson pointed to the window Jim had broken when he raided his wardrobe. Jefferson was so incredulous, or perhaps delirious, he was actually starting to smile. “You interviewed me about the break-in! You said it was that Invisible Man!”

“I needed a lead! We were on a stealth mission to catch the Phantom of the goddamn Opera,” Jim said, having no better excuse. "I'm not proud of it, but what would you have done?" Jim nearly brought up the break-in at Victor's but decided to leave it alone.

Jefferson relaxed and started to laugh. “The same damn thing. You know, I might keep you around after all.”

“Thanks,” said Jim, baffled that Jefferson would find that endearing. "So, you forgive me? I really want to make it up to you."

“You did save my skin out there in the woods, although you did have to beam me over the head to do it. We'll call it even," Jefferson said, letting his head fall back on his pillow. "I would like that shirt back though.”

Jim grit his teeth. “Yeah... Like I said, I don’t have a lot of clothes or money with which to buy them,” Jim said sheepishly.

Jefferson sighed. "You know what? Keep it. It looks good on you."

"Thanks." Jim blushed. He really didn't know what to do with that. "I'm... gonna get you a glass of water," Jim said. He scurried out of the room, thinking, _"He must still be really out of it. He doesn't know what he's saying. I'm probably just reading into things anyway."_ Jim found where Jefferson kept the glassware, filled a cup in the sink, and set it on Jefferson's nightstand. "Here you go."

Jefferson, who had changed into his turtleneck and sweats, looked over at the glass, then to Jim's expectant face. "Thanks, you're a gem," he said, taking the glass.

Jim opened the pill bottle for him and gave him the prescribed amount. Jefferson withdrew a pill box from his drawer. There were multiple orange plastic bottles inside. Jim watched in awe as Jefferson swallowed at least seven pills in a single gulp. “Is that safe?”

“They’re all prescriptions from Dr. Hopper,” said Jefferson. “And I unfortunately need to get back on them.”

“What are they for?” Jim asked. Jefferson’s posture got very defensive. “Never mind. It’s not my business.”

Jefferson relaxed again. “Speaking of ‘not my business’, I am honestly a bit curious what your whole deal is. But you don’t seem like a bad guy, so I’m not going to worry about it.”

“Well, I’m not the best guy. And I think you mean ‘when you get through this,’” Jim said encouragingly.

“Oh no. He’s an optimist,” Jefferson remarked. “Well, you’re in good company. I’m not the greatest guy either.”

They both chuckled. “Now, how about some food?” Jim asked, happy with their mutual lack of prying into the other’s affairs.

Jefferson groaned. “If I eat anything, I’m just gonna end up painting the room with it,” he said.

“Then I’ll make sure I bring a bucket with dinner,” Jim said cheekily.

The appliances in Jefferson’s kitchen were intimidating. He saw things that he was sure were an oven and stove, but they were covered in extra knobs and buttons. Jim’s world was shaken when he opened what seemed like a cupboard and located the refrigerator. There was plenty of food inside that Jim did not need to cook at all. Using his knowledge of combating seasickness, Jim cobbled together a small meal of bananas, yogurt, and some wheat crackers from the pantry.

“These should be easy on your stomach,” said Jim, setting Jefferson’s dinner next to him on a plate. He left again and returned with a bucket he saw in the garage.

As Jefferson started picking at his food, Jim looked out the window. The sun was starting to go down. From there, he could see the spot where Nadir and Darius hid while Jim broke into the house. That was not his proudest moment, especially because he assumed that the homeowner wouldn’t be too fazed by his actions.

Jefferson ate half of the banana, most of the crackers, and only a bit of yogurt. Jim took his food away and refreshed his glass. Jefferson thanked Jim again. He asked for a painkiller for his headache. Jim fished around in Jefferson’s loaded medicine cabinet till he found the Excedrin.

He glanced over at Jefferson’s shower. He wouldn’t need help with that, would he? Jim hoped not. If he was any other person, he’d do it, but Jim would still confess to finding Jefferson somewhat attractive. Even though it wouldn’t be Jim’s intention, he’d still feel like he was taking advantage of him. That made Jim feel very icky inside.

“Are you feeling any better?” asked Jim as Jefferson took the pills.

Jefferson had to think. “Well, my vision’s more or less fine. My fine motor skills are garbage, but at least I can dress myself. If I stay in bed, I don’t have any vertigo. That reminds me. I need to use the bathroom.” He stood up on his own and left the room.

As the sun continued to set, Jim realized he needed to figure out a sleeping arrangement. If something happened in the night, he wanted to know, so Jim elected to stay in the same room. Jim took a pillow off Jefferson’s bed. He felt the carpet. It was fairly plush. If he had to sleep on the floor again, Jefferson’s floor was the best he was going to get.

“What are you doing?” asked Jefferson, reentering from the bathroom.

Jim looked up from the floor. “Trying to figure out how I’m going to sleep tonight,” Jim answered. “Nice carpet, by the way.”  

“You know, I have a guest room. Multiple guest rooms,” Jefferson said, perplexed.

“I just want to make sure nothing bad happens in the night. Victor said you had night terrors in the hospital,” Jim explained, standing back up.

Jefferson struggled with this for a moment. “All right. Fine,” he relented. “If you’re that worried, you can stay in here.”

“Great. So, do you have an extra blanket or…?”

Jefferson rolled his eyes and sat back down on the bed. “If you’re gonna insist on staying in my room, you might as well get on the bed. It’s big enough,” Jefferson said exhaustedly.

“Would you be all right with that?” Jim asked, unsure if that would be appropriate.

Jefferson had no such misgivings. “Yeah, why the fuck not? Can you hand me the remote?” he asked, not bothering to gesture to it.

Jim looked around in confusion. “What’s a remote?”

Jefferson lifted his arm and flaccidly waved it in the general direction of the remote control. “It’s that thing with the buttons.”

“This thing?” Jim pointed to an object on the other nightstand.

Jefferson nodded. “Push the red button. You gotta aim it at the TV.” Jefferson must have predicted further confusion on Jim's part, because he immediately followed with, "That thing." He pointed to the mysterious black panel on the wall.

Jim did as instructed. The black panel on Jefferson’s wall sprang to life with a white glow that filled the room. He took a seat on the bed.

“What am I looking at right now?” Jim asked Jefferson, who was pushing himself up into a sitting position.

“It’s a television. It shows things happening in other parts of the world. This here is a news station," Jefferson explained. "I find this world's politics so fascinating. None of it really affects Storybrooke, so it’s more of a daily drama than anything else.”

Jim read the headline beneath the talking heads arguing about some buffoon caught telling lies while running for office. “They’re having an election?” he said.

“It’s insane. The caucus races in Wonderland were less chaotic," Jefferson replied. "I don't need the anxiety right now. Press four, then two.”

Jim did so. The screen lit up in soft lines and pastels. “Now what am I looking at?” he asked, confused, watching the distorted likeness of a boy with a sword ride an enormous yellow dog into battle.

“Cartoons," answered Jefferson. "Animated drawings. Kids like them. I like them 'cause I can pretend to be somewhere else for a little while. It's relaxing." Jefferson rolled over and settled into his sheets. "This one always reminds me of Oz. You ever been? Marvelous place."

"Never heard of it. Are you going to sleep?" Jim asked, unsure if he should keep the television running.

Jefferson mumbled an affirmative. "I sleep with the TV on a lot. Then I don't have to be alone with my thoughts. I hope that's not a problem."

Jim stared at a new image of a different boy and three colorful women doing battle against some alien creature, set to the tune of some mellow, soothing music. “I wish I had a TV," Jim said, getting lost in the show. "I have trouble sleeping on land sometimes. Not lately though. When I’m at sea, I just listen to the water lapping up against the boat and I'm out.”

Jefferson hummed in response. He was somewhere in the twilight between consciousness and slumber. Jim wasn’t sleepy. He stayed awake watching the adventures of the boy and his friends, traveling the stars and singing songs about love.

Around ten or so, Jim checked the clock and decided it was time to turn in. He'd need to be up to make sure Jefferson took his pills and had breakfast. He stripped down to his boxers and undershirt. Between the television and Jefferson's light snoring, Jim found it very easy to drift off back into a pleasant, black nothing.

 

* * *

 

Earlier, Victor drove himself and the Monster down to Lakeside Manor. It was a nice enough place for a private conversation, but also ideal for disposing of a body. He was almost at ease until he saw Hyde and the Queen emerging from the mansion's front door. He turned to run, but the monster gripped his wrist. From prior experience, Victor knew that resistance was pointless at best.

”Why are they here?” Victor asked, scared out of his wits.

”Hello, Victor,” said the Queen with a wave. “Jekyll's here. He sends his regards.”

The Monster led Victor over to the edge of the lake.  “What do you want with me?” he begged. “Why am I here? Help!”

The Queen cast a gagging spell over Victor’s mouth, although no one was around to hear Victor scream. “Keep that up and I'll take your voice just like I took the mermaid’s.” Victor stopped his vain attempts to summon help.

"We're not the ones who want you,” Hyde told him as the Monster threw him onto the dock. “You’re merely here for a trade. Thank you for assisting us with this, Dr. Frankenstein.”

The Queen removed Victor's gag just to toy with him. “I’m not helping you with anything!” Victor shouted, before being muffled again.

”Dr. _Adam_ Frankenstein,” Hyde clarified, looking at the Monster. Victor let out a stifled noise of confusion.

"Thirty years is plenty of time to get one’s self a doctorate. Or are you surprised I took your name?” said the Monster, Adam. “I may not be your brother Gerhardt but I still consider us family, in a way.”

The four of them watched in anticipation as Charon's ferry returned to shore. This time, it bore a tall, imposing man in a black tailored suit and a wispy woman in a green floral gown. Guided by Charon, they pulled up to the dock. The man in black took his time stepping out of the boat, almost savoring the moment.

“Hades and Persephone," said the Queen with a smile. "It’s been too long. Do you have the Shears?"

Hades withdrew a large pair of ancient scissors from inside his coat. He held them out for the Queen. "Do you have the Doctor?" he asked, not noticing Victor huddling in fear below them. Hades looked down. "Oh, hello. You must be Victor. I would like to have a word with you in my office."

The Queen lifted Victor's muzzle just as Charon got him in his icy grip. "No. NO!" Victor screamed as he was loaded onto the boat. Persephone scolded Charon for using so much force. She even tried to comfort Victor to no avail.

"Just to be clear," said Hades to the others, "You're paying me to _rent_ the Shears. I do expect them back."

"You will have them back after the blood moon passes, O Lord of the Underworld," Hyde promised.

Hades held up his hand. "I'm not like my brothers. Flattery will get you nowhere," said Hades, "although it is appreciated."

Upon mention of a blood moon, Persephone spoke up. "If you happen to be doing any black magic during the eclipse, please give my best to Hecate. I haven't seen her in ages. It's hard keeping in touch with friends when you're a laurel tree." She laughed. Hades laughed too. He had a genuine smile on his face. They held each other's hand as Charon rowed them back into the mist. Victor groveled for mercy all the while.

 

* * *

 

Jim awoke the next morning at 10 AM to an empty bed. At first, he was worried that Jefferson may have had an episode and wandered off. Jim still felt like utter crap, but now he had a reason to get out of bed. He put the rest of his clothes back on and went to track him down. He was so relieved to find Jefferson eating cereal at the breakfast table, staring blankly at the morning paper.

“Morning,” said Jefferson, through a mouthful of food. He glanced over at Jim. “Sleep well?”

“Yeah,” said Jim, leaning on the wall. “That's a very comfortable mattress you've got there. How about you? Were you all right last night?”

Jefferson rested his head on the hand holding his spoon. “Well, I didn’t wake up screaming. That’s a good sign. I did throw up again. You must have slept through it. Vision’s all clear, but the vertigo is worse and my anxiety is through the roof. All in all, a pretty standard day. Oh! Look what I can do!”

Jim watched amusedly as Jefferson attempted to twirl his spoon between his fingers. Jefferson’s hands still hadn’t regained their full stability and he dropped it into the cereal bowl. Milk splashed in his face. Jim tried not to laugh as he sat down at the table.

“I suppose I should offer you some breakfast,” said Jefferson, wiping the milk off his face. “Help yourself to whatever. I don’t even remember what’s in the fridge.” Jefferson pointed to the stainless-steel, wardrobe-like appliance where Jim had found the yogurt.

“That’s nice, ‘cause I didn’t really eat dinner,” Jim replied. He got up and scrounged up some food. He grabbed a banana and a cereal bowl. “Captain… Crunch,” he read on the box next to Jefferson.

“Don’t worry,” said Jefferson. “He’s not a pirate. He’s in the navy.”

Jim poured himself a bowl. “I used to be in the navy. Well, the naval academy. I never actually joined.” Jim took a bite and almost immediately cut the roof of his mouth. “Motherf-!”

“Yeah, you gotta be careful when you eat it,” Jefferson told him. “It can cut you up real bad.”

“Thanks for warning me,” said Jim, running his tongue over the cut. It stung like a bitch. “Why would you keep this in your kitchen?”

“It’s not for me. It’s for my daugh…” Jefferson held that syllable longer than made sense. “Digestion. It’s good for my digestion.” That answer seemed beyond fishy, but Jim didn’t see a reason for Jefferson to lie about breakfast. They both kept eating, very carefully. At least it tasted good.

There was a buzz. Jefferson picked up his phone. “Oh, Izzy texted me. ‘Hey, fuckface, why didn’t you call me last night? Is what’s-his-ass taking care of you? By the way, I found your car. It’s by that creepy mansion near the lake. Thank me later. Tongue-out emoji.’”

Jefferson showed the text to Jim. There was a little yellow face with its tongue hanging out. There was even a picture showing exactly where the car was. Jim vaguely recognized the nearby building. He may have seen it while he, Nadir, and Darius were making their trek through the woods.

“I’m gonna go change,” said Jefferson, rising from his seat. “When you’re done eating, go put your jacket and shoes on.”

Jim stopped chewing. “Why exactly?”

Jefferson grabbed his bowl and spoon and brought them to the dishwasher. “’Cause you’re gonna help me bring the car back before anyone else sees it. And I could also use a functional car.”

Before Jim knew it, he and Jefferson were beginning the long walk deeper into his neighborhood toward the woods. Jefferson was wearing yet another turtleneck sweater, sunglasses, and a peacoat. To their mutual chagrin, Jim had to help Jefferson tie his shoelaces. Jefferson also rolled his eyes when Jim reminded him to take his pills. Jim was still in the same clothes from yesterday, plus his jacket and boots. They walked in silence for a few minutes before Jim got bored.

“So where are we going exactly?” Jim asked, glancing at Jefferson.

Jefferson kept his eyes focused forward. “Lakeside Manor, also known as the Sorcerer’s Mansion,” he answered resolutely.

Jim was instantly thrown into confusion. “The Sorcerer’s Mansion? Does a wizard live there?”

“A wizard is _supposed_ to live there,” said Jefferson cryptically.

“What does that mean?” asked Jim. The more answers he got, the more questions he had.

“It was supposed to be Merlin’s house,” said Jefferson, trudging along, “but Merlin was in a tree when the Dark Curse got cast. So, it officially belongs to nobody.”

Jim scratched his head and tried to make sense of that string of nonsense. "I didn’t understand a word you just said.”

Jefferson sighed. In the frigid air, his breath fogged up like a dragon’s. “All right. How much do you know about the Dark Curse?” he said.

Jim was so distracted, he nearly tripped over a fallen branch. “People keep bringing up curses and other weird shit, but no one will ever explain it to me.”

“It’s a good thing this is a long walk,” said Jefferson, as he began a long digression into the history of Storybrooke and the curse that brought them there. He told Jim all about how Regina cast the curse to punish Snow White and David. He painfully recounted how Storybrooke stayed frozen in time for twenty-eight years. He bittersweetly described how Emma and Henry broke the curse, restoring everyone’s memories. “And, yeah. That’s pretty much it.”

Jim was speechless. He pursed his lips and tried to process the outlandish, complicated story. “So, if Regina knew who she was cursing, why did she make a house for someone who never got cursed?”

Jefferson stopped for a moment to think. “Just keep walking,” he grumbled, picking up speed as the incline increased, bringing them downhill faster.

"So, if everybody got new memories and identities and stuff, who were you during the curse?" Jim questioned. "Were you still a bartender?"

"No," Jefferson answered. "I wasn't anybody." On that cryptic note, Jefferson checked the map on his phone to make sure they were going the right way. Jim wanted to know what he meant, but everything about Jefferson's body language told him not to ask.

They turned onto a street that wound through the woods until they reached a sign that said "Lakeside Manor." A long driveway meandered its way through the property to an enormous house. It dwarfed Jefferson's by a wide margin, old-fashioned and elegant. True to its name, it was next to a small lake. All in all, it was quite charming.

“Izzy’s picture showed the car halfway in a ditch, right over… there.” Jefferson pointed to a silver sedan that was pulled over on the wrong side of the road. Its driver side door was ajar. Luckily, everything appeared intact and nothing had been stolen. “Okay, let’s hurry up and do this before we get caught.”

“Caught? Caught by who?” Jim asked, surprised that this had become a stealth operation.

Jefferson quickly scanned the car’s interior. “Oh, thank God.” Jefferson pulled the keys out of the ignition and presented them to Jim.

“What do you want me to do with these?” asked Jim, gingerly taking the keys.

“You said it yourself. I’m in no condition to drive,” said Jefferson. “We’d wind up in another ditch. I don’t want two fucked up cars.”

“I can’t drive this thing! I don’t know how!” Jim responded. He looked at the driver’s seat, then to the keys, then to the middle-distance. Anxiety started overtaking him.

Jefferson started tapping his foot, starting to get antsy. He removed his sunglasses, his eyes bugging out in the daylight. “It’s easy, okay? I’ll walk you through the whole thing. We just have to get the car back to my place. It’s not that far. What? What are you looking at?”

Jim had turned his gaze away from Jefferson and the car to two figures emerging from the mansion’s front door. Jefferson’s whole body tensed up. It was the Queen and Mr. Hyde. They were far enough away that they didn’t seem to notice them.

“We have to go!” Jefferson harshly whispered into Jim’s ear. "Now!"

Jim crouched down and took out his spyglass. It was them all right. It seemed like the rumors were true. They were surely talking about something nefarious in nature. Mr. Hyde was holding what looked like a pair of golden scissors. Jefferson prodded Jim, telling him to get a move on.

“Hold on! I’m trying to see what they’re up to,” Jim told him. He adjusted the focus. He regretted getting a closer look. “Oh, gross!”

Jim passed the spyglass to Jefferson, who was now curious. His reaction was equally repulsed. “What the fuck? I did not see _that_ before. Ugh.” Jefferson shuddered. Hyde and the Queen were locking lips on the veranda. He quickly handed the spyglass back to Jim. “We really need out of here before they see us. Give me the keys,” Jefferson said, holding out his hand.

Jim wasted no time. They got in the car. Jefferson fired up the engine and quickly drove the car back out of the ditch. The danger of having Jefferson behind the wheel was nothing compared to the danger Hyde and the Queen presented. Jim and Jefferson sped back through the forested road. Jefferson pulled over when they were a safe distance away.

Turning off the car, he said, “They didn’t see us, right?” He was practically panting with fear, fear tinged with disgust.

“I don’t think so. I think we’re good,” Jim replied, equally harrowed.

“I barely got us out of there,” said Jefferson, hands trembling. He had been swerving a lot, but Jim hadn’t noticed at the time. “You’re driving the rest of the way.”

Jefferson and Jim switched seats. While they were out of the car, they shook their limbs out, sloughing off the memory of Hyde and the Queen. Jim sat down in the driver’s seat. He tried to remember what he’d seen Emma and David do. He buckled himself in, then gripped the steering wheel. The anxiety was coming back in full force.

“It’s a good thing there aren’t any traffic cops in Storybrooke,” Jefferson said. “Otherwise, we could really be in trouble.”

Under Jefferson’s direction, Jim guided the vehicle back through the neighborhoods to Jefferson’s house. They were going at a snail’s pace. If the stakes were lower, Jim might have had more fun. He was a first-time driver in unfamiliar territory with an invalid sitting shotgun. Jim already banged up one of Jefferson’s cars. He was determined to get this one back without a scratch.

They pulled into Jefferson’s driveway. Jefferson reached over and pushed the garage door opener. Jim carefully steered the car into the garage and brought it to a stop. Remembering, Jim put the car in park without direction. He turned off the engine and handed Jefferson the keys.

“Not bad,” said Jefferson. “Maybe when this is all over, I’ll let you take her out for a joy ride.”

“Seriously?” asked Jim, perking up.

“No, but thank you for helping me get it home,” Jefferson said. “Wow, I am very hungry and very nauseous. This should be a fun afternoon.” There was another buzz. Jefferson checked his pockets.

“Izzy again?” Jim asked. He admired his handiwork fucking up Jefferson’s other car.

Jefferson checked his messages. “Nope. It’s August. Aw, shit. I forgot.”

Jim followed Jefferson back into the house. “What? What now?”

Jefferson grimaced. “It’s poker night. I’m hosting,” he groaned. He backed into the wall and slid down it till seated.

“So? Just cancel,” said Jim, towering over him. “You don’t need to be entertaining in your condition. You’ve had way more than enough excitement for one day.”

Jefferson thought about it briefly. “No, I’m not cancelling. The neighbors should see me doing something normal. I’ve been out of commission for a week. They're bound to start asking questions.” Jefferson got up and hurried up the stairs, stumbling on the landing.

“Why does that matter?” asked Jim, tailing him.

“Like I said, I’m putting out a lot of fires,” Jefferson answered, peeking his head out from behind the wall. He disappeared down the hallway.

Jim sat down on the chaise. He fell back and stared up at the ceiling. After a long exhale, he thought to himself, _“What have I gotten myself into?”_

Jefferson came back into the room, looking frantically about the house. Jim watched as he straightened picture frames and rotated tchotchkes on shelves. When Jefferson broke out a dust cloth and Windex, Jim decided it was time to intervene.

“Jefferson? Jeff! What are you doing?” Jim asked, pulling Jefferson away from the smudged glass on the coffee table.

“I’m having company over,” said Jefferson in a rational tone. He ripped off a paper towel square and started buffing away the fingerprints.

Jim massaged his temples. “Are you always this… enthusiastic when you have people over?” he asked, trying to maintain his composure.

Jefferson cracked his neck. “ _No_ ,” he said emphatically, “but I'm a little manic right now and it’s really important that everything around here looks normal.” He finished the coffee table and started picking crumbs out of the carpet.

“Who are you trying to impress?” Jim asked. "Aren't these your friends?"

“Yeah. What's your point?” Jefferson answered, licking his thumb and wiping a smudge off the wall. He picked up the dust cloth and started wiping down the bannister and the oddly shaped wall clock mounted by the stairs.

“Why would your friends care that the bannister’s dusty?” Jim asked, still impotently watching Jefferson work.

Jefferson inhaled deeply, trying to keep himself from flying off the handle. “They don’t know about my little woods excursion,” he said pointedly. “Everything needs to look the way it always does.”

“Everything usually looks immaculately clean?” asked Jim in disbelief.

Jefferson stared at him dead-eyed. “Yes,” he said bluntly. “Can you please help me tidy up? Oh my god.” Jefferson froze and retreated into himself. “I haven’t made dinner. I always make dinner. Shit!” He sprinted up the stairs only for Jim to grab him by the shoulders.

“Jefferson, listen to me,” Jim said firmly. “The house looks fine. What time are people getting here?”

Jefferson tried to remember. “Uh… around five, maybe? They’re not exactly punctual.”

“That’s plenty of time to make dinner. Tell you what, you go clean up. Take a shower. Put on one of your best vests. I’ll get started on cooking. How many mouths do we have to feed?”

“It’s just the four of us. Something tells me Victor won’t be joining us tonight. Do you know how to cook?” Jefferson asked, skeptically.

Jim smiled, a bit cocky. “I served under Long John Silver. I can cook.”

Jefferson agreed to Jim’s plan. He went off to freshen up and left Jim alone in the kitchen. Jim took a deep breath in, took another gander at the complicated chrome appliances, and was overwhelmed by the modernity of it all. Then he began tearing through the cupboards looking for simple meals, anything he didn’t need to bake or boil. No such luck. Worse, he kept running into foods he couldn’t even identify.

“What the fuck is kale?” Jim asked himself, looking at a mess of green nonsense.

Finally, Jim found some dry pasta and a jar of pesto. In the refrigerator, there was some pre-packaged salad. It was one day past the expiration date, but it was probably fine. Jim got to work deciphering Jefferson’s stove, playing with the knobs till he got a light.

Thirty minutes later, Jefferson came back into the kitchen looking quite refreshed. He had shaved, coiffed his hair, and was wearing a lovely paisley purple ascot. Jim did a double take when he entered the room, nearly hitting his head on the counter standing up from the oven.

“Wow, something smells good,” Jefferson, smiling pleasantly.

“Garlic bread,” said Jim, pointing to the loaves warming in the oven.

Jefferson tasted the pesto sauce. He smiled in approval. “Why don’t you go get cleaned up? I can finish up in here.” Jefferson looked at the state of Jim’s clothes. They were dirt-stained and disheveled. “And why don’t you also grab some clean clothes out of my closet? You could use a change.”

When Jim returned, he was in a pair of slim fit jeans and a plain blue button shirt. He didn’t dare touch anything fancy. It would be a serious imposition, and Jim wasn’t a fancy person to begin with. Jefferson glanced up from a copy of _Mastering the Art of French Cooking_. When he looked at Jim, Jefferson lost track of his place in the book.

Jim was certainly looking better than the greasy, gritty mess he’d been for the past few days. He tossed back his still damp hair and tied it up with a ribbon. Jefferson wet his lips. He wasn’t sure why. His focus snapped back to the cookbook and he scrambled to find where he left off.

“Thanks for lending me some more clothes,” said Jim. “You were being nice about it, but I know I looked like eight feet of crap in a four-foot sack.”

Jefferson snorted, which he tried to hide. Forcing his face into a neutral shape, he said, “It’s no trouble. You clean up nice.”

Jim was a bit flustered. “Thanks. You too. You always look nice,” Jim stammered, mentally reminding himself to shut up. “You have really nice style, I mean.”

Jefferson stood up and walked over to his liquor cabinet. “I doubt I looked that great when you found me running around the forest. I had blacked out for a long time. I can only imagine the dirt that must have accumulated.” He took out a bottle of orange liqueur.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Jim lied. It was pretty bad. “You were wearing a top hat,” he added, like that would improve the image.

Jefferson broke the egg he was trying to crack. He laughed nervously. “I wonder where I picked that up,” he said, picking up fragments of eggshell.

“What are you making?” Jim asked, peering over Jefferson’s shoulder.

“Chocolate mousse,” answered Jefferson. “We still need a dessert. I guess we’ll have to make do without the glazed orange peel.”

“Dessert’s not really my specialty,” Jim said. “They didn’t serve a lot of mousse on the ships I worked on.”

Jefferson chuckled again. “Would you like to help?” he asked, in much better spirits.

Jim shyly stepped further into the kitchen. “Sure, I guess.” He looked around at the mess they’d already made on the counters. “The kitchen’s kind of a mess. We should probably take care of that before people get here.”

“Eh, I’ll just blame it on you,” Jefferson teased. It took a second for Jim to realize he was kidding.

He showed Jim the proper way to mix egg yolk, sugar, and orange liqueur into a glaze. Jim was surprised to find himself actually having fun. Jefferson, wound much less tightly than earlier, appeared to enjoy himself as well. It wasn’t long before they were setting the dessert cups into the refrigerator to chill.

Jim and Jefferson both took a long breath, proud that they’d pulled everything together. Jim was about to ask, “So what happens now?” when the doorbell rang. Jefferson removed his apron and draped it over a nearby stool.

“Great, they’re early,” Jefferson groaned, licking the excess chocolate off his fingers. He left the kitchen and scurried down to the front door.

“So, who are these friends of yours again? You said August and…” Jefferson opened the door. In the doorway, stood a ruggedly handsome man in leather holding a wine bottle. Next to him, was another ruggedly handsome man, also in leather. Jim would have called it his lucky day, were it not for an bag of indeterminate goods hanging from the man's metal hook. “Oh, fuck me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, I imply that Jefferson likes watching Adventure Time and Steven Universe on Cartoon Network. I have to imagine that Marceline's backstory with the Ice King - who went mad due to relying on magic headwear to protect/provide for her - completely devastated him. I also think that Jim's going to be similarly destroyed when he learns about Spinel.


	13. Poker Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim is forced to awkwardly play poker with Killian, who asks him to continue helping them catch Hyde and the Queen. Jim tells him that he saw the villains at the Sorcerer's Mansion. The next day, they make plans to storm the mansion and stop Hyde's plot.

_“I know I’m just a fool who’s willing to sit around and wait for you. Baby, can’t you see? There’s nothing else for me to do. I’m hopelessly devoted to you.” -_ _“_ Hopelessly Devoted to You”,  _Grease_

* * *

Jim watched motionless as Killian and August crossed the threshold into Jefferson’s home. After a quick hug from Jefferson, Killian looked up the stairs and locked eyes with Jim. His smile vanished instantly. Jim knew what he was thinking. _“Bloody hell.”_

August hurried up the stairs, tossing his jacket on the couch. He introduced himself to Jim, who could barely choke his own name out. Killian didn’t budge an inch, even as Jefferson shut the door behind him. Noticing the odd behavior of both Killian and Jim, Jefferson realized he made a horrible mistake.

“I am so sorry. I should have told you he’d be here,” Jefferson whispered to Killian, then to Jim up the stairs.

Jim flickered his eyes and rejoined them in the present. “It’s… It’s fine. I’m fine. This is totally fine.”

“I totally forgot. Is this going to be a problem?” Jefferson asked, desperately hoping for a negative.

"How could you forget?" For Jefferson’s sake, Jim stopped and said, “No. Everything’s fine. There's no problem. We’re good. We are good.”

Jefferson didn’t buy his tone, but he accepted the answer anyway. Killian bravely climbed the staircase. Jim stood his ground, determined to make Killian look him in the eye. Killian took a deep breath. He held out his grocery bag to Jim.

“I brought chips,” Killian said awkwardly. Jim took the bag and placed it on the kitchen counter. Killian glanced at Jefferson and August chatting in the parlor.

“Where’s Victor? I haven’t heard from him,” August said.

He was probably still upset with Jefferson. Jeff lied and said, “He’s busy tonight. I got Jim to be our fourth.”

Killian coughed. “Well, this is quite a mess we’re in, isn’t it?” He was smiling, trying to lighten the mood.

Jim wasn’t amused. “Who’s ‘we’ exactly?” he asked snidely.

August’s voice grew louder. “I say we get this party started. Where’s your bottle opener?” Jefferson and August entered the tension-filled kitchen. Killian and Jim softened their faces in front of the witnesses.

“Jim, you know Killian, right?” Jefferson asked for August’s benefit.

Jim looked at both Jefferson and Killian. Their faces said the exact same thing. _“Play along, for my sake,”_ they begged. _“Just be cool. Please.”_

“Yeah, we go way back. Never thought I’d see him here,” Jim laughed. He casually patted Killian’s shoulder like they were at a school reunion. Inside, Jim didn’t know who to be more pissed at, the man who’d been avoiding him or the man who sprang the other on him without warning.

August poured them each a glass of wine while Jefferson doled out dinner. They made pleasant conversation around the table while Jim ate and nursed his drink. He wondered how many glasses he could have before they noticed something was wrong. Quietly, he prayed for lightning to strike him. All the while, Killian kept looking over like Jim was going to say something that put him in serious peril.

Finally, Jefferson cleared their plates and pulled out his poker set. Everyone began counting their chips and their money. _“Oh, right,”_ Jim thought. _“Gambling.”_ Jim still didn’t have any American dollars. He leaned over to Jefferson. “In case I didn’t mention, I don’t have any money,” he whispered, trying not to be too sarcastic.

“I know. If you gamble and lose, I’ll pay,” Jefferson whispered back. “Just don’t bet too high. Oh, August has a tell. Whenever he's bluffing, he touches his nose.”

"Thanks for the tip." Jim settled back down in his seat. “Anyone know what the conversion rate is between American and Ingarian dollars?” Jim joked, neatly stacking his chips. No one was laughing.

Next, Jefferson took out the cards. His motor skills still hadn’t quite recovered from the withdrawal. He could hold the cards just fine, but he was useless trying to shuffle them. Jim took them and shuffled the cards himself.

August asked, “You’re from Ingary? So, how do you know Hook?” Jim loosened his grip while shuffling and the cards flew all over the table. Jefferson perked up his ears to listen. Jim looked to Killian for permission to speak as he gathered the cards again. Killian gave him a nod.

“You know, old pirate stuff. We haven’t seen each other in years,” Jim answered coolly. “I was so shocked when I saw him. He hasn’t changed a bit.” Jim forced himself to laugh. Killian did so too.

“I didn’t recognize Jim at first. He had grown a beard and his hair was even longer,” Killian added. “You’re looking much more yourself these days.” There was a sincerity in his voice that Jim was not in the mood for.

August bought the story. The weak, anxious smile on Jefferson’s face revealed some doubt though. Jim expected further questions after August and Killian left. He dealt the cards. Every time he got to Killian, he watched him drag the card toward him with his hook, evidence that he had in fact changed quite a bit.

Jim and Killian fought like dogs, continually raising the stakes out of spite, their old boyish competitiveness rising to the surface. Jefferson and August began to get the feeling that they were merely spectators to a two-player game. Jefferson was playing it safe. August kept rubbing his nose, telling Jim it was safe to bet higher. It was just him and Killian.

After several hands, chips sliding back and forth across the table, Jefferson let out an audible gasp. He set his cards down and took a long sip of wine. “Why don’t we, uh, take a break while I bring out the dessert?” Jefferson said, standing up. His smile was pained. It was him who needed the break.

They all agreed. August left to use the bathroom. Jim spied a little blood on the napkin he'd been using to blot his nose. Apparently, lying gave him nosebleeds. _"Thank God I don't have that problem."_ This left Jim alone at the table with Killian.

Jim figured that Killian was going to turn and run again, so he ignored him. He sensed something suspicious and picked up Jefferson’s hand. In it was the Queen of Hearts, whose face had been marred with vulgar words and crude doodles. His reaction to seeing it had been so visceral. This had to be connected to the queen he was ranting about before. Jim had assumed he was just talking about Regina. Now he wasn't so sure.

“Can I talk to you outside?” Killian asked, putting his hand on the arm holding the card. “Just for a moment?”

“What about?” asked Jim. Were they finally about to clear the air?

“Just police business.” His soft tone suggested more, like he was worried that Jefferson or August might be listening.

Jim would have to revisit the Queen of Hearts later, sometime when Jefferson was feeling better. Jim and Killian stepped out onto the deck, into the brisk night air. Their breath fogged up in front of them.

“So, are we going to talk about what happened on the ship or is this really just police business?” Jim asked frankly, not wanting to be led on.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you here. I don’t think this is the appropriate time or place for that conversation,” Killian answered. “What are you doing here anyway?”

Jefferson wouldn’t want Jim mentioning his hospitalization. “I ran into Jeff in town today and he invited me,” Jim said nonchalantly, slipping his cold hands into his pockets.

“That’s funny, because Jefferson was the one who warned me about you,” Killian said. “Not sure why he’d invite you of all people. No offense.”

Jim grit his teeth and tried to be pleasant. “I explained that there had been a misunderstanding between us. Unlike your girlfriend, Jefferson doesn’t ask a lot of questions. And what exactly would be the right time and place? Based on how you acted at the concert, I thought I was never going to speak to you again.”

“I’ll admit I wasn’t exactly being mature, but you didn’t leave on the friendliest note. I didn’t know what would happen the next time I saw you,” Killian explained. That was fair enough. “We can find a time to discuss all that later. Since you are here though, there were some things I wanted to ask. It’s about the Hyde case.”

Jim groaned. “What? I got the Phantom for you. What more do you want?”

“Emma mentioned that you worked for Hyde before coming here,” Killian stated delicately.

“And?” Jim asked, shivering. He left his coat inside.

“We just wondered if you might know anything more that we could use. What sort of things were you handling for him? You’re not in trouble or anything,” Killian assured him. 

Jim turned to stare at the sunset dying through the trees. Stars had already begun to shine. Everything around them was violet and red. Jim couldn't help but think how much better it would be over the water.

“The crates and packages were always unmarked. I was just the go-between. I don’t know anything,” Jim told him. He wished he could be of more help.

“All right. Well, I thought I’d ask. We’re at the end of our rope trying to put an end to this mess. Between the Phantom and the Invisible Man, there’s just not been enough of us. Look, mate. You’re not obligated to help, but if you could find it in your heart, we could really use your assistance.”

Jim scoffed. “You’ve got a lot of balls asking me for anything right now,” he told Killian.

Killian hung his head. “I know.” He looked pathetic and Jim was happy to see him looking so ashamed.

Jim sighed. How was he going to spin this one? "I was going for a walk earlier today around the woods up north. There's a big fancy house out there. Anyway, as I was walking around, I saw Hyde and the Queen exiting the building. Hyde was holding a big pair of gold scissors. I don't know if that's a relevant detail. Either way, I'd suggest checking it out. You might find something there."

The light switched back on behind Killian's eyes. "Thank you, mate. I'll send the word along to Emma and David. They're going to be so thrilled. Any chance we could get you there tomorrow to show us exactly what you saw?" Killian asked, really pressing his luck.

Jim hesitated to answer. “I don't know. We'd better get back inside. They might start asking questions,” Jim said, putting an end to the dialogue. “Jefferson made mousse.”

Jim and Killian slid open the glass door and went back into the house. They sat down to find a cup of chocolate mousse sitting before them. Jim wasn’t sure he felt like eating, but Jefferson had worked very hard on it with him. He tried a spoonful. It was cold and creamy and melted in Jim’s mouth. He wasn’t sure he’d ever tasted anything quite that gourmet, except perhaps at dinner with Dorian.

Killian was moving it around in his mouth, like he wasn’t sure what to think. Jefferson was taking modest spoonfuls, deeply contemplating the taste. His expression said, “I could have done better.” August seemed to find it just fine. He cleaned out his bowl within a few scoops. He wiped his mouth and set the linen cloth on the table.

“As usual, you’ve outdone yourself, Jeff,” August said, finishing off his wine as well. He suppressed a belch. “Should we get back to the game?”

Jefferson dabbed at the corner of his mouth. He glanced over at Jim and Killian, who were taking their sweet time finishing off their dessert. Jim was staring dispassionately at Killian while Killian’s eyes traced the crown molding along the ceiling. Jefferson cleared his throat to get their attention. “Yes. Let’s.”

Jim and Killian returned to the game, but the tension didn’t diffuse. They played for another hour or so. Jim wound up about fifty dollars in the hole, trying to get Killian to fold. Jefferson cast him a mildly annoyed look as they were all counting their chips and taking out their wallets. August went home fifty dollars richer. Killian gained ten and Jefferson won barely enough to break even. Jefferson slipped Jim a ten-dollar bill, which Jim begrudgingly handed to Killian.

“Congratulations,” Jim said, mentally adding, “ _As if you haven't taken enough.”_

“Good game, mate,” Killian replied with a smile. “Looks like my winning streak continues. Better luck next time, eh?” He was so earnest when he said it. Jim smiled, as if there would be a next time.

Seventy-five years prior, Jim and Killian had enjoyed playing cards in the taverns together. They got themselves into a lot of trouble. They didn't always play fair. Killian had been on quite a hot streak when they started a recurring game in the academy. Of course, if the game ever shifted to strip poker, Jim was happy to let Killian win on purpose. He had at least ten unbroken victories when Jim dropped out. Naturally, that would be the detail he'd remember.

Killian didn’t have anything else to say as he put his coat back on, preparing to leave. August found his coat hung neatly by Jefferson in the hall closet. He stuffed his slightly thicker wallet into it.

“Well, this has been… quite an evening,” August said, stiltedly. He touched his nose again. Did he not enjoy all the money he won? He was looking at the tension simmering between Killian and Jim. Maybe they'd been a bit too aggressive. “It’s getting late. We should probably get going.”

“Aye, Emma’s waiting.” Killian glanced at Jim, wondering how he’d react to the mention of her name. Jim used every muscle in his face to keep a neutral look. August, on the other hand, stiffened up a bit. Killian didn’t notice, but Jim did.

Jefferson almost seemed happy to usher them out. “Well, thank you both for coming over, as usual. I’m sorry Victor couldn’t make it. I guess the hospital’s a bit overrun these days,” Jefferson said with a plastic smile.

“Thanks for finding Jim here,” said August, giving Jim a pat on the arm. “We need some new blood, especially after Robin… Well, it’s nice having new faces. Nice meeting you, Jim.”

Jim shook August’s hand. It was rough. He must work with his hands a lot. “Nice meeting you too.”

“Do you need a ride back into town?” asked August, pointing his thumb toward his car parked outside.

Jim bit his lip and thought. Should he tell them that he’s staying with Jefferson? Jefferson interceded for him. “Don’t worry about it. I told Jim he could crash here tonight,” Jefferson casually informed them.

“I’d rather sleep on the couch here than on one of the beds at Granny’s,” Jim joked.

“Suit yourself. Maybe we’ll see you in town sometime,” said August, turning away with a slight wave.

Jefferson bid them both good night and returned to the kitchen. As August descended the stairs to the door, Killian leaned toward Jim. “Please, just give it some thought, mate. You don’t owe us anything, but you’d really be doing us all a favor. Nobody’s safe as long as Hyde and the Queen are running about.” Killian pulled away. “G’night, Jeff! Wonderful time as always!”

Killian exited through the open door. Jim watched him leave. He found himself in a dilemma. As much as Jim didn’t want to get involved in any more of Killian’s affairs, he knew what a threat Hyde was. He hadn’t a clue what he and the Queen were planning, only that it was beyond all of their depths. Jim didn’t know Hyde well, but he was the closest thing they had to an expert.

“Why do I get myself into these things?” Jim muttered to himself. He hurried down the steps after Killian.

While August unlocked his car, Killian stood waiting on the porch. Jim walked out to him. “Hey, listen," Jim began uncertainly. "I can’t guarantee anything, but if you really need me tomorrow, I can probably swing by. I’ll need a ride though. And I don’t know how to reach any of you.”

A spark went off in Killian's mind. “That reminds me. Emma wanted me to give you this,” said Killian, fishing through his pocket. He handed Jim a small, cheap-looking phone. “It’s got all of our numbers in it. Figured you could use it while you’re here.”

“Emma? Really?” Jim examined it. The screen was personalized with an ocean background. “What’s the passcode?” Jim asked.

“It’s your birthday,” Killian said. "Month and day."

Jim typed in the numbers. The phone unlocked. “You remembered my birthday?” Jim said, taken completely aback in the best way.

“Of course,” said Killian, smiling. “How could I forget?”

Jim could forgive him for forgetting. It had been a while since the last birthday they’d spent together. Still, the fact Killian remembered after all these years was touching. In that moment, Jim forgot that he was mad at him. He forgot everything.

"Emma also told me to tell you that we found Aladdin," Killian continued. "He was working at the local thrift store of all places."

Jim looked up from his gift. “I’ll be there. Tomorrow, I'll be there,” Jim resolved. “I may need to help Jefferson with a few things first, but I’ll be there.”

"Thank you, mate. That means a lot to me," said Killian. He looked like he wanted to hug Jim, but Jim wasn't ready for that. They shook on it and said their goodbyes.

He watched as Killian and August drove away. Then Jim continued fiddling with the gadget he’d just been gifted. A cell phone. Possessing this distinctly Storybrooke object, containing the contact information for all of his new acquaintances, gave Jim a strange new feeling of belonging. He mattered.

He scrolled through the contacts. Victor Frankenstein. Dorothy Gale. Killian Jones. Ruby Lucas. Regina Mills. David Nolan. Snow White Nolan. Emma Swan. Jefferson… Jefferson wasn’t on the list.

“Hey, Jefferson!” Jim called, still outside.

“What?” Jefferson called back from the kitchen.

Jim hurried inside, holding up his new phone. “Can I get your, uh…?” He pointed to the phone and pretended to type in some digits.

“My phone number?” asked Jefferson. Jim nodded. “Where’d you get that?”

“Killian gave it to me,” Jim answered. “The Sheriff’s Department wanted an easier way to get in touch with me. They put in all my contacts, except for you.”

Jefferson held out his hand. Jim handed over the phone. Jefferson entered some quick information and handed it back. Jim looked at it. Something felt special about having Jefferson’s number. Suddenly, Jim just couldn't help himself.

Jim heard a buzz. Jefferson pulled out his own phone and checked his texts. An unknown number sent, " _Hi! It's Jim! Congratulations on being my first text message."_

Jefferson smiled. Jim watched as Jefferson added him to his contacts. There was something significant about that, like a bond had been formed. Jim knew that this sort of thing was commonplace in Storybrooke, but being a part of the little things meant that he was part of the bigger picture. He felt connected. He looked at the list again. Jim's eyes watered when he realized that for once in a very long time, he had friends. 

Jim helped Jefferson tidy up the dining room and kitchen. When Jefferson retired to his room, Jim made himself a light snack. Then he remembered to bring Jefferson a fresh glass of water for his evening pills. Jim entered the room. He was taken quite aback when he saw Jefferson pulling on another sweater to sleep in, briefly exposing his abdomen.

“Sorry,” said Jim, feeling the color rising in his cheeks.

“For what?” asked Jefferson, sitting down on his bed. He didn’t seem to mind. Then again, it had just been his stomach and a bit of his chest. Not exactly an intimate region, but it did put a few somewhat intimate thoughts in his head.

Jim brought him the water. Once again, Jefferson effortlessly swallowed a handful of pharmaceuticals. He smacked his lips. “That new junk Victor put together tastes like shit. I don’t even know if it’s working.”

“Are you feeling better than yesterday?” Jim asked.

Jefferson gave it some thought. Jim expected a real answer. “I’m a bit more functional than yesterday. The symptoms are diminishing. Let’s put it that way.”

“Good,” Jim said firmly. “Then let’s assume Victor’s meds are working.”

“Thank you for all of your help today,” said Jefferson sincerely. “I really couldn’t have pulled all of this together without you.” Jim smiled at that. "Really though, thanks to you and Hook, no one was paying any attention to me. I still don't know what's going on there, but you could cut the tension with a knife."

“Thanks for warning me about that, by the way,” Jim said sarcastically.

“I said I was sorry,” Jefferson whined.

“I’m just giving you shit. Have a good night. Let me know if you need anything.” Jim turned off the overhead lights and left. He thought about asking Jefferson about the Queen of Hearts, but decided against it. If that was some kind of trigger for him, this was definitely not the time to touch it.

“Good night,” Jefferson returned, turning on the television.

Jim retired to the guest room down the hall. He kept his door cracked just in case Jefferson had trouble during the night. He was getting better though. Soon he wouldn’t need Jim looking after him. What would Jim do then? He tried not to think about it.

On his bed were a pair of folded flannel pants and a T-shirt with the picture of a prism refracting light on it. It said “Pink Floyd.” Jefferson had left him pajamas to wear. How sweet of him. Jim put them on. The flannel was so comfortable. Jim climbed into bed with his new phone and flipped through it again.

For a bit, he just looked at the names and numbers, contemplating their significance. Then he got curious. He started fumbling around with the apps. This thing could tell him the time, the weather, how many steps he took that day. He tried investigating Twitter and Facebook, but he needed an account. He pressed the image of a compass. Jim found himself on a page called Google.

He heard people reference it in conversation. They would say “I'll google it” when they need some new information. He didn’t know what they meant until now. He typed in "Storybrooke." No search results.

“No, I did not mean ‘storybook’,” Jim said to his phone. He typed in "Maine." Suddenly, he was learning everything about the state of Maine in the country of the United States on the continent of North America on a world called, much like his own, Earth.

Jim was looking at the entire globe, spinning it with his fingers. “Looks like my cartography skills are irrelevant here.” It was beautiful, and a little bit sad. It made Jim feel small and even more useless. Even so, there was so much world to explore.

He looked at picture after picture of every mountain, river, and ocean he could find. This new world was fascinating and beautiful at every turn. Jim wanted to see it all. He watched the battery life drain away. At the twenty percent warning, Jim decided it was time to set the phone aside and go to sleep. He might get a call in the morning and he needed to be ready.

Sure enough, Jim woke the next morning to shrill music ringing in his ear. He rolled over and rubbed his eyes. His phone was chiming on his nightstand. Jim looked at the screen. It was Killian. Eight in the morning was awfully early to be investigating the Sorcerer's Mansion, in Jim's humble opinion.

“Hello?” Jim said groggily, squinting at the sunlight creeping through the blinds.

“Jim, sorry to wake you. It’s me,” came Killian’s breathy voice. He sounded stressed. “You need to get over her fast."

Jim groaned and set his feet on the ground. "It's barely eight in the morning. Does it have to be right this second? Can I meet you at the mansion in a couple hours?"

"This isn't about that. It’s the Queen," said Killian, unnerved. "She just issued an ultimatum to the whole town. If Snow and David don’t turn themselves over to her by noon, she’s going to lay a curse on everyone.”

That was hard news to hear first thing in the morning."Everyone?" Jim asked. "Like, _'everyone'_ everyone?"

"That's what she said. And you know she shoots to kill," Killian confirmed.

“What do you need me to do?” asked Jim, standing to his feet. He was still lukewarm on helping Killian, but Snow and David were in danger. And if the curse was cast, that meant Jefferson, Darius, and everyone else Jim had come to care about could be in mortal peril. Jim had to act.

“Come to the station so we can think of a plan,” said Killian. “I know this is sudden, but we need you. David, Snow, Emma... I need you.”

Jim sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Killian didn't need to say that, but if Jim had any more reluctance, it would have been gone. “All right, I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he said.

“Thank you, mate. I'll see you soon,” said Killian. He hung up. Jim was left holding his phone, processing everything Killian told him. He snapped out of it and started rapidly dressing. There wasn't a minute to waste. He was still tucking his shirt into his pants as he stumbled into the hall.

Jim looked about, having briefly forgotten where Jefferson’s room was. Jim knocked on Jefferson’s bedroom door. Normally, he wouldn’t disturb him, but this was of grave importance. Jim needed a ride, or at least the car keys. There was no answer. He quietly opened the door. Jefferson wasn’t in bed.

Jim wandered the house in search of Jefferson till he saw a light beneath a door he hadn’t yet explored. He knocked. Yet again, no answer. “Jefferson, are you in there? Jefferson?” Jim called. He tried the door. It was locked. He knocked louder. "Jefferson!"

He heard a grunt and a few barely audible words. “Jim? Oh, Jesus fuck… I’ll be right there. Just give me a second.”

Now Jim was starting to worry. There was a mechanical noise behind the door, puzzling him further. A few seconds later, Jefferson opened it. He looked off. He had already dressed, but was also a bit disheveled. The bags under his eyes said he hadn’t been sleeping much.

“Are you all right?” Jim asked, forgetting about the danger with the Queen. "You look... tired." That was charitable.

Jefferson combed through his hair with his fingers. “Fine, I’m fine. What’s up?” He leaned against the door frame like he was trying to bar Jim from entering.

Jim was so baffled, he took a second to recall. “I just got a call from Killian. He said the Queen is going to curse the town if Snow and David don’t turn themselves over to her. Seeing as she sent the Invisible Man after them, I'm assuming she wants to kill them.”

Jefferson furrowed his brow. “That's not possible. She can’t kill them. Gold put a charm on them that keeps her from directly harming them. It’s how he got her to cast the Dark Curse in the first place. She must have something worse in mind.” Jefferson got that look, that thousand-yard stare.

“Worse than killing them? What could be worse than that?" Jim asked incredulously.

"She doesn't have a lot of virtues, but she's nothing if not creative," Jefferson told him. He shut the door behind him so they were both standing in the hallway. 

Jim gulped. "Anyway, Killian wanted me to help them come up with a game plan. Can I borrow the car or are you all right to drive?”

Jefferson massaged his head. “Yeah, I mean, my head still feels like it’s full of rocks, but my spatial awareness is good. No jitters. We ought to be fine."

While Jefferson grabbed his keys from a bowl by the stairs, Jim grabbed his coat. He felt his pockets. There was only one knife and Jim used it for whittling. If worse came to worse, he might have to quickly learn to use a modern gun. The last time he pulled a gun on the Queen, she melted it in his hands. As Jim rode with Jefferson back into town, he worried if he'd be any use at all. He didn't imagine himself dying at the hands of an angry monarch, but he wondered if he might prefer it to a ravine.


	14. Hot Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite Jim, Killian, and Emma's best efforts, they fail to stop the Queen's curse before the deadline. David and Snow willingly let her curse their hearts to save the town.

Though his driving wasn’t completely flawless, Jefferson managed to get Jim to the Sheriff’s station quickly and in one piece. Several times along the drive, Jefferson asked Jim to clarify exactly what the Queen meant by “the whole town.” Jim replied each time, “I don’t know.”

The car came to a stop. Jim hopped out and David waved him over from across the parking lot. Jefferson also got out of the car and locked it. When David and Jefferson caught sight of each other, something ignited in David's eyes. Jim suddenly felt like he was stuck in the middle of a crossfire.

“What are you doing here?” asked David, appropriately tense but uncharacteristically hostile.

Jefferson prickled up. “I’m just giving my good friend Jim here a ride," Jefferson told him, grabbing Jim's shoulder. "I can see I’m not wanted, so I guess I’ll be on my way. I don’t suppose you’d want any extra help with the Queen.”

“We don’t need _your_ help. Thank you,” said David with contempt. Something had happened between these two, something ugly.

Jefferson turned to leave but halted. ”This curse the Queen’s threatening,” Jefferson said, half-turned away. “Did she really mean the whole town? Everyone?”

David relaxed a little. “Yeah, everyone.” He said it almost like an apology.

”Then I really do need to get going. I trust you’ll do the right thing,” Jefferson said, snidely adding, “You always do.”

Before David could come up with an appropriate comeback, Jefferson got in his car and drove away. Jim prayed that he got back home safely. His interaction with David left Jefferson more than a bit heightened. Jim hoped that wouldn’t cause him problems.

It wasn’t his business asking David why he’d been so rude to Jefferson, but he was very curious. He had a feeling Jefferson wouldn’t want to talk about it either. He might ask about it down the road, provided they were all still alive after today.

Jim followed David into the station. He passed by the cell where they were holding Erik. Apparently, they still hadn't decided what to do with him. He was listening to some music on what looked like Emma's headphones. Erik sneered as Jim passed by. 

David brought Jim to the back where Snow, Emma, Killian, and Regina had already gathered. He took the open seat next to Killian, the only one available in the makeshift boardroom. Everyone was sitting in silent contemplation. David shut the door.

"Oh, look," said Regina sarcastically. "If it isn’t Dog the Pirate Hunter. Now we're saved."

"I was asked to be here," Jim told her, not getting the reference. "Not sure why. I don't know the first thing about fighting evil queens, but I'll help out any way I can. Thank you for the phone by the way. Very thoughtful of you."

Emma set down her coffee mug. "You're welcome," she said, both of them briefly pretending that their lives weren't all in danger. “Glad to have you on board.” She smiled, possibly the first time she ever smiled at him.

They got right to business. It was about 9 AM. That gave them three hours to think of a plan before Snow and David were ordered to meet the Queen at the cemetery. None of them had any ideas.

"And you have no idea how she plans on cursing the town?" David asked Regina for the umpteenth time.

"I already told you. I don't have a clue. Her magic might be stronger than mine at the moment, but there's no way in hell she can do a city-wide death curse on her own. Maybe a little plague or something, but nothing worth handing yourselves over for." Regina had her arms and legs tightly crossed defensively. There it was again. That look of "this is all my fault.” Jim knew it well.

Emma cut in. "Speaking of which, what the hell is she planning to do to you? It's not like she can kill you. Gold's charm should still be in effect, right?"

"She'd settle for torture. Or worse," Regina said, a little too casually for Jim's comfort. "When's Gold getting here? We told him nine."

Speak of the devil, Mr. Gold showed up barely a minute later. “How are we all on this lovely morning?” he asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee. Jim needed coffee. He hadn’t even gotten the chance to eat yet.

”Ecstatic,” Regina deadpanned.

”Thank you for coming on such short notice, Mr. Gold,” Snow said, almost apologizing for Regina’s rudeness.

Gold took David’s seat at the head of the table. “Of course. Now how exactly can I be of assistance?”

”The Queen's planning to curse the town,” Emma reminded him. “We were hoping you might know how she plans on doing that with only half her magic.”

Gold pressed his unmanicured finger to his face. Whether he was thinking or just pretending to think was unclear. “I don’t have much of an idea either,” he said. “Seems like every curse on this town’s already been tried. I will say though, that a private stock of water I’d collected from the Underworld mysteriously vanished from my shop in the night. I'm not suggesting they're related, but...”

”Seems like you’ve got a real security problem,” Jim said, remembering the stolen dagger.

There was a knock on the door. Happy poked his head in. He smiled at everyone, none of whom were in the mood. “Excuse me. Speaking of security problems, Storybrooke Water and Energy left a message last night. It seems some suspicious security footage was taken near the water tower and they’d like you to come and investigate.”

"Thank you, Happy,” David said dismissively. “We’ll get around to that later.” Happy ducked out with another anxious smile. “So what about your stolen water?”

Everyone silently stared at David, waiting for him to put two and two together. Gold rested his chin in his hand. Regina cocked an eyebrow. Even Snow cleared her throat trying to alert David to the obvious connection. A lightbulb went off.

”You don’t think...” David wondered.

”She’s poisoning the town water supply like some kind of Batman villain,” Regina said. “Obviously.”

”Well, that’s that. We all go to the water tower and put a stop to this. Let’s go,” said Emma, getting ready to leave.

Snow put her hand on her daughter’s shoulder before she could run off. “It’s not that simple, Emma.” Emma seemed confused. “This might not go how we plan. For all we know, this could be a trap.”

”Snow’s right,” David said, exchanging a look with his wife. “Maybe we should stay behind just in case.”

Emma was aghast. “You’re not serious,” she said in utter disbelief. “You’re really going to... No, there has got to be another way.”

”We’re not saying not to try,” Snow explained in the most comforting tone she could manage. “But if noon rolls around and we still haven’t diffused this figurative bomb, we need a backup plan.”

”Our backup plan cannot be you turning yourselves over to that psychopath!” Emma insisted. Psychopath. Regina cringed.

David walked around the table to embrace his family. “We’re short on time here. Whatever happens, we can handle it.” He took Snow's hand. "Together."

Emma looked about ready to cry, but Snow and David had made up their minds. No one at the table liked the idea, but what else could they do? They made a plan. Emma, Killian, and Jim would drive up to the water tower. Snow and David would get ready to meet the Queen. Regina would be there for moral support, and possibly magical support if things took a turn for the worse. The meeting adjourned.

Sitting in the back of Emma’s car, Jim wasn’t feeling his typical awkwardness. He was absorbed into the harrowing aura of a distraught woman, potentially about to lose her parents. Emma tried hard not to show it, but Jim and Killian both felt her pain and they were powerless to do anything.

”Emma, love...” Killian didn’t know where he was going beyond that.

”We don’t need to talk,” Emma told him resolutely. “Let’s just get this done.”

The drive through the forested backroads near the shoreline took longer than they really had time for. Jim prayed that Emma knew where to go, otherwise they were screwed. Through the trees, Jim could make out a tall structure that had been painted to look like another row of pines against the sky. The water tower, somehow attached to the desalinization plant, whatever that was.

Emma pulled up to the security gate. Inside the guard booth, Jim saw another man about the size of Happy or Sleepy. Before Emma could get a word out, the small man let out a tremendous sneeze.

"Sneezy. How’s it going?" Emma greeted as the man rubbed his nose. Was his name seriously Sneezy? "Look, there’s not much time. We need to get into the water tower. There's a serious security issue."

Sneezy sniffled. "Do you guys have clearance?" he asked. His voice was, predictably, nasal.

”Did you not hear about the security report?” Emma asked him.

Jim didn’t have the patience for this. People were going to die. He rolled down the passenger window. "The Queen's going to poison the water supply. Let us in, shorty."

Taken aback by Jim's order, Sneezy searched for the button to open the gate. He stopped for a moment, contorting his face in wait of another sneeze. Nothing came. Sneezy pressed the button and let them drive into the facility.

Emma parked and they all got out. Sneezy led them over to the main access door. He tried his keys, but they didn’t work. He cycled through an enormous ring of them.

”Stand aside,” Emma ordered, before summoning a ball of magic and blasting the heavy metal doors. It barely made a dent. She tried again. And again. Nothing.

”We need to try something else,” said Killian, blocking Emma from trying another blast. “Are there any other doors?”

Sneezy pointed to a large, adjacent building. “You could - _a-choo!_ \- try getting in through the desalinization facility.” To their surprise, it was unlocked.

”Why do I get the feeling we’re walking into a trap?” Jim asked uneasily.

”Doesn’t matter,” said Emma. “Let’s go.”

They ran inside. There was no time for stealth. Jim checked his dying phone. They had less than an hour.

Looking around, they found themselves in a long hall full of machinery and pipes. It looked somewhat like _The Nautilus_ , when Captain Nemo showed them the water filtration system. There were workers milling about, surprised to see Emma, Killian, and Jim practically break down their door.

”Miss Swan,” said an older employee, possibly a supervisor. “To what do we owe this visit?”

”We need access to the water tower. You have to shut down anything pumping water in or out. The entire supply needs to be contained,” she ordered, though no one heeded her instructions.

The supervisor sighed. “I’m afraid we can’t do that, Miss Swan.” His voice was affected and airy.

”You don’t understand. People could die!” Emma forcefully informed him.

The man smiled. His voice became one of two, the other being hauntingly familiar. “That’s entirely the point.” It was the Queen. She was puppeteering him from a distance.

Emma, Killian, and Jim backed toward each other as the other plant workers circled around. They began speaking in chorus. “Now, unless you want to cut down all these fine people in the vain hope of stopping me, I’d suggest letting your parents make their big decision.”

Jim recognized the sound being broadcast through the intercom system. It was those ugly, dissonant violins. “Oh my god, they’re hypnotized!” Jim realized.

The mob chuckled. “I may have added some extra magic to it. Suggestibility only gets you so far. For instance...” A worker grabbed a loose pipe and ran at Emma with it. She dodged, grabbed, and disarmed him, slamming him to the floor. ”It’s very hard getting a hypnotized person to kill,” the Queen said through the mob.

”This isn’t hypnosis. It’s straight up mind control,” Emma told them, looking into her assailant's glazed eyes.

The chorus of workers laughed again. “And I didn’t have to steal a single one of their hearts! Anyway, I’ve got your folks to attend to. Have fun!” The smiles faded from their faces, replaced by a look of pure aggression. They drew even nearer, picking up equipment to use as weapons.

”What are we going to do? We can’t hurt them!” Jim said, instinctively reaching for his blades and finding none.

”You’ve been in a few bar fights, right?” Killian asked, knowing full well that Jim had.

Jim turned to Emma. “We’ll hold them off. You get to wherever that music is coming from and shut it down.”

Emma looked up at a series of darkened windows overlooking the machinery. “On it.” She ran through and past the crowd, dodging blows as she reached the maze of metal walkways woven through the maze of pipes.

Jim took a breath and began throwing punches. Killian did the same. With a series of sweeping kicks and elbow jabs, all they did was succeed in making the crowd angrier. 

One worker broke a glass bottle over a railing and came at Killian from behind. Without thinking, Jim grabbed a discarded pipe and clocked the attacker in the head. The bottle hit the floor and shattered to pieces.

”Oi, mate! We’re trying not to hurt them!” Killian said, looking at the bloody cut Jim left.

”Sorry for saving your life for the hundredth time!” Jim returned, punching another worker in the jaw.

They continued fighting them off for what felt like forever. “Can she hurry up?” Jim huffed. “I’m starting to run out of steam here.”

In the distance, they heard some shouts and possibly some shattered windows. In the corner of his eye, Jim caught some bursts of white light.

Killian stopped to catch his breath. “She’s doing her best, all right?”

Jim grunted. More reinforcements were coming, bearing more lethal tools. Killian and Jim booked it up the stairs onto the catwalk over the filtration machines. Jim shut the metal gate in the railing and busted the latch with a fire extinguisher.

They ran in Emma’s general direction, decking whatever brainwashed worker got in their way. They darted down the hallway only to be met by another small throng of people.

”You’ve got to be kidding me,” Jim panted. He cracked his knuckles. Round two. Just as they were about to plow through fists first, the violins stopped. Jim and Killian looked about, expecting the crowd to come to their senses. No such luck.

”They’re not waking up,” Jim said warily.

Killian stretched his neck. “Then let’s wake them up.” Killian grabbed a man by his collar. “Sorry about this,” he said as he drove the man’s head into the wall.

The man fell to the ground. He got back up, rubbing his head. “Ow... what the hell?” He turned and saw Killian and Jim surrounded by his coworkers.

”Hook? Thank God!” he said through the pain. “The Queen, she-!"

“We know. Shut down the water,” Hook said. The man nodded and ran off.

Jim and Killian resumed knocking sense back into the plant’s employees. They fought back to back, almost dance-like. Jim linked arms with Killian. Killian bore Jim on his back so Jim could kick a man square in the face with both feet. Every combat move they knew together came back to them.

They didn’t know Emma was watching when Killian crouched down so Jim could spring off his back and land another flying kick to a worker's head. Killian swept another man’s legs and banged his head against the floor. Eventually, the crowd was back to their old selves, massaging their aching skulls.

”Sorry about all that!” Jim said awkwardly. "Technically, you started it."

Emma hurried over to them. “The music’s off. She borrowed Erik's violinists. Follow me.” She led them back up the stairs to a higher catwalk that led straight across the main room to the water tower.

Jim checked his phone again. He had lost track of time. They only had six minutes left, if the Queen was following the same clock.

”That was some impressive fighting back there,” Emma remarked as they came to the door. “You practice that?”

It wasn’t so much practice as it was numerous scrapes without any weapons, making stuff up on the fly. After a while, Jim and Killian had developed a pretty solid routine. They hadn’t lost it after decades apart.

Emma blasted the doors wide open. They weren’t even locked. She was running on pure adrenaline. They found themselves halfway up a narrow circular chamber. At the center was a cluster of pipes. A staircase wound around them going up and down.

"Which way?" Killian asked. They had five minutes.

Emma vacillated for a few seconds. "Split up," she said. She darted downstairs. Killian tailed after her, leaving Jim to take the upstairs alone.

Jim took his first steps up the stairs. Emma and Killian's metallic footsteps echoed throughout the tower. Jim checked his phone. It briefly displayed 11:56 AM before dying. Four minutes. Jim charged upstairs.

He had barely made it up one flight when more goons came down after him. With no time to waste, Jim knocked their heads together and pushed past them. It took several flights for Jim to reach the top. He found himself in a wide, domed room. It was as if the entire building decided to take a breath. A narrow walkway encircled it. The remainder of the room was a vast pool of water. He'd found the Queen's target, but there was nobody there.

If he tried to be quiet, he might not catch the threat in time. If he ran, whatever the Queen put in place to poison the water might trigger early. Suddenly, he felt like Snow and David's lives rested solely in his hands. "Fuck it," Jim said to himself. He darted around the perimeter of the tower, hunting for Mr. Gold's supply of deadly Underworld water.

The light was dim. Someone might be lurking, waiting for the Queen's signal. Jim had almost made a full rotation around the tower when he heard a squeak from across the water. He looked and saw a shadowed figure holding a large Grecian water jar. Jim was about to take aim with his one available knife when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned and saw Emma and Killian, thoroughly winded.

They charged at the man, another worker. He didn't seem to notice them coming. He had the same hazy look as his coworkers. The man walked toward the edge of the water. When his feet touched the rim, he appeared to wake up.

"Stop!" Emma called out. Her voice rang throughout the chamber. He looked down at the jar in his hands. The Queen had tied his hands to it. Emma let out a small burst of magic, just enough to knock him away from the water's edge. He toppled onto his back.

Jim gasped when he saw the jar go sideways. Emma cursed, realizing her mistake. Luckily, the lid on the jar stayed shut.

Emma, Killian, and Jim gathered around the man. He was trembling and trying to extricate his hands from their tethers. Jim grabbed his arm and poised to cut him free.

"You have to get back!" the man yelled. "She charmed the jar to break if I don't pour it in. It's too late! Go!" Before they could ask him what he meant, the jar cracked open. Water came gushing out, soaking the man's clothes.

Jim followed the water. It wasn't flowing toward the main supply. It was getting lost in the grates. Suddenly, the man began to scream. They all looked on in horror as fire engulfed him, consuming his body until there was nothing left. Jim was shaken. Emma was frozen. Killian looked like he might be sick.

"The River of Fire," Killian said, his voice trembling. "He brought water from the River of Fire back as a souvenir! That-!" Killian growled in frustration.

Though a man had died in the process, they had done it. They thwarted the Queen's scheme to bring his fate to the entire town. Emma came back to her senses enough to reach for her phone and call her parents. She had to tell them it was done.

"Dad, please pick up. Please pick up," Emma said, pacing frantically. "Dad! Thank God. We did it. You don't have to... What do you mean? What happened? Where's Mom?" Emma's eyes got wider and waterier the longer her silence went on.

Killian showed Jim the time. According to his clock, it was 12:05. They got there too late. Jim and Killian gathered around her. "What? What's going on?" Killian asked.

Emma finished her call with David. Shell-shocked, she put her phone back into her pocket, staring into space.

Jim couldn't take the suspense. "Are they dead? Say something!" Killian shot him an angry look.

"No," Emma said solemnly. "They're alive." She said that like it was a bad thing.

On the way back down to the car, Emma painfully explained everything. With no time left to lose, Snow and David allowed the Queen to reach into their chests, pull out their hearts, and lay a sleeping curse on the two of them. Then she magicked the sleeping Snow away somewhere for David to find. After that, the Queen disappeared.

"A sleeping curse?" Jim asked. "That doesn't sound so bad. Right?"

Emma turned away. Not wanting to burden her with any more explanations, Killian said, "I'll tell you later, mate."

Hours later, they gathered around David's hospital bed at Storybrooke General. Having found Snow's sleeping body, he had tried to kiss her awake. As she opened her eyes, David fell asleep himself. Now he was hooked up to feeding tubes and other appliances until it was time for Snow to wake him. They had prepared a second bed next to David for her. Emma embraced her mother as she cried.

Killian took Jim into the hallway and explained the situation. "So, it looks like only one of them can be awake at a time," he said, staring at the checkerboard pattern on the floor. "They'll never be together again until the curse breaks."

"But they can break it, right?" Jim asked hopefully.

"There's only one known way to break the curse and they already tried it," Killian said. He sighed. He, Jim, and Emma were all thinking the same thing. _"If I'd only been faster."_

Killian straightened his spine and tried to put on a brave face. "Listen, you don't need to stay any longer, mate. You've done more than enough for us today. Get yourself a drink. Lord knows I could use one after seeing, well, you know."

Jim didn't feel like he'd done anything. "I need I ride home. I mean, back to Jefferson's," he said, shaking his head and trying not to blame himself. He took out his dead phone and showed it to Killian.

Killian dug through Emma's purse and returned with a charger. "We've got five more at home. Just stick it into the wall. Jefferson can show you," Killian said.

He took his own phone out and made a call. "Jeff, mate, everything all right? Good. Glad to hear it. No, the danger's been dealt with. Listen, Jim's in need of a ride. Are you able to swing by the hospital? Great. Well, you can see for yourself when you get here. Goodbye."

Killian tucked his phone away. He tried to smile, but he couldn't. He went back into the room to console Emma as she tried to console Snow.

Jim sat outside in the hall for over half an hour waiting. He watched Regina pass by on her way out, shame filling her eyes. Victor wasn't anywhere to be seen. They were being attended to by a short, bearded doctor they all simply called 'Doc.' It was a little on the nose.

Finally, Jim heard footsteps from his left, following by a familiar voice. "Wow, they really did it," said Jefferson sadly. Jim looked up at him. Jefferson was staring at Snow holding David's hand as he slept.

"Yeah," Jim said in response. What more could be said? "Do you think they did the right thing?"

Jefferson recalled what he had said earlier. "What was the alternative?" he asked.

Jim still couldn't get the image of the man immolating in front of him out of his mind. "You don't want to know," he replied. "But it's taken care of."

Snow and Emma poked their heads out of the hospital room. They came over to greet Jefferson, taking a break from mourning what the Queen had done.

"Jefferson, hi. I’m surprised to see you here," said Snow, trying to be pleasant. "It's been a while."

"I'm just here to pick up Jim," Jefferson replied. He took another look at David. "I don't know whether I should say 'thank you' or 'I'm sorry.’ I can't imagine what you're going through right now."

Snow replied, "Well, we've been here before and we made it out just fine. We'll get through it again." She didn't sound like she completely believed it. She turned to Jim. "Thank you for all your help today."

"What help?" Jim said, still punishing himself.

"You did your best. You all did," said Snow, touching his arm. "That's all we could ever ask." Jim allowed Snow to hug him, though he really didn't feel like he deserved it. He was half-afraid she might start crying and it would be his turn to offer words of encouragement. Snow got up, said goodbye to them, and returned to David's side.

As Jim and Jefferson prepared to leave, Emma stopped them and said, "Hook told me the tip you gave him about the Sorcerer's Mansion. Thank you. We're going to investigate tomorrow. Could you meet us there at, say, 10 o'clock?"

Jim looked to Jefferson. He'd need another ride. Jefferson gave the slightest of nods. "Sure," Jim confirmed. "I'll be there."

With that, Emma said goodbye and rejoined her parents. Killian ducked his head out. He gave them a wave, but didn't come out to talk. Jim and Jefferson left the hospital. As they were walking out, Jefferson quietly said, "You told them about the mansion?"

"Yeah, should I not have?" Jim asked.

"What exactly did you tell them?" asked Jefferson, oddly tense.

Jim tried to remember. "Just that I was taking a walk down there and saw Hyde with the Queen. I didn't mention you, if that's what you're worried about."

Jefferson relaxed. "Oh, okay. Thank you. I'll give you a ride tomorrow, but we really ought to get you a license. I'm working the late shift tonight and I am not a morning person."

"You're working tonight?" Jim asked, surprised. "Are you feeling well enough for that?"

"Doesn't matter," Jefferson said. "You gotta do what you gotta do."

Jim thought it over. "I wouldn't mind a drink."

"I don't need a babysitter," Jefferson said, approaching the intersection equidistant from his home and The Rabbit Hole. He debated which way to turn. "All right, fine. But you'll be waiting a long time for a ride back later."

"I think I'll stop by Granny's," Jim told him. "I want to check on Darius."

Jefferson smirked. "Your, uh, 'cousin', right?" Jefferson made a left turn toward Main Street.

"Yeah, we're not related," Jim said, judging by Jefferson's inflection that he hadn't bought their story for a minute. "We've only known each other about three weeks. He actually assists the guy I came here with, Nadir."

"Is he the one who got attacked by vampires?" Jefferson asked. "There are vampires, right?"

"We'll get to the vampires eventually," said Jim, once again overwhelmed by everything going on.

"Anyway, after everything that happened today, I was pretty worried about him. Darius, I mean. Well, also Nadir. Him, _you..._ If we had gotten there a second later, you'd all be drinking bottled water for a long time." Jim would explain in more detail later. He didn't want to think about it anymore.

They made their way to The Rabbit Hole. Jefferson got to work while Jim just sat peacefully, recovering from the day's events. He ordered a shot of rum and then just watched Jefferson work. He was looking even more immaculate than usual. Jefferson was probably overcompensating for his recent meltdown. He was so obsessed with maintaining a facade of normality. Jim wished he knew why.

After finishing his drink, Jim walked back up to Granny's. He knocked on Nadir's door. Darius opened it. Jim didn't say anything. He just knelt down and hugged him. "I'm so glad you're all right." Jim felt a tear slide down his face.

"Why wouldn't I be all right?" Darius asked, confused as to why Jim was practically strangling him with his hug.

Jim told him and Nadir everything. They missed the Queen's morning ultimatum. Jim left out the man burning to death, for Darius's sake. Darius was devastated to hear what befell Snow and David. "You and me both, kid," Jim said. He also relayed that they were going to the Sorcerer's Mansion tomorrow. Hopefully, Hyde's plot was just about finished.

"Yes, but what of Svengali? When we can we take him back to Ingary?" Nadir inquired impatiently.

Jim sighed. "When David's awake, I'll ask him."

After saying goodbye, Jim went down to his room and collected a few of his things. Namely, his weapons. If they were going onto Hyde's turf tomorrow, he'd need to be armed. He couldn't believe that he nearly tried to disarm a man with a whittling knife. Pathetic. He also grabbed the rest of Jefferson's clothes.

He said hello to Ruby and Dorothy, then returned to The Rabbit Hole. He had another drink and waited for Jefferson to finish his shift. It was a long shift. Jim nodded off to sleep in the corner of the bar.

He awoke to a poking in his shoulder. Jefferson was standing over him, wearing his jacket and ready to go. "It's two in the morning. We're closing up," he said, exhausted. "Let's go home." Jim drowsily followed him out the door, listening to a song play softly in the background. He waved goodbye to Izzy, who was wiping down the bar.

_“I know who I want to take me home. I know who I want to take me home. I know who I want to take me home. Take me home.”_

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Hyde slammed a book on his desk. "I can't believe you'd do something so reckless without consulting me!" he chided. "Now the entire town's on alert again, all because of your petty curse threat!"

The Queen crossed her arms like a bratty teenager. "Sorry! This plan of yours is taking forever and I got bored. Sue me. At least the Charmings are preoccupied now."

"Yes, but now the others have rallied and time's no longer on our side," Hyde informed her. "We need to keep them busy while we gather the rest of what we need. This is what I brought Erik for, but that traitor jumped ship at the first chance he had."

The Queen came up behind Hyde, laying her hand on his shoulder. She started giving him a massage. "I'm sure with the right kind of motivation, Erik will do just about anything we ask. Where's his little lady friend?"

"Back at the circus, presumably," said Hyde, beginning to catch her drift.

"Will you need anything else while I'm out? Or will the Phantom and his Irish ingenue suffice?" asked the Queen, heading for the door. "Don't you worry. I've got this in the bag. I'm curious to know just how some disfigured musician is going to help us, but you haven't steered me wrong yet." The Queen strutted into the parlor, only to give Hyde a good look at her walking away. Midway down the corridor, she disappeared into thin air.

 

* * *

 

Jim woke up once again to the ring of his phone. Jefferson had shown him how to set an alarm on it. It was 8:45 AM. If he hadn't already fallen asleep earlier at the bar, he'd probably be exhausted. He still didn't get a good night of sleep. His dreams had been plagued by fire and flood. For a moment, Jim didn't get why. Then he remembered the screaming, flaming man in the water tower. He'd never get that image out of his head.

He got up, got dressed, and ate a moderately filling breakfast. Jefferson came into the kitchen in the same clothes he had worn the night before. He was running on six hours of sleep, maybe less. He grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl and then grabbed his keys.

"Ready to go?" he asked, barely keeping his eyes open.

Jim nodded, his mouth full of cereal. They drove together back to Lakeside Manor. Emma's yellow Volkswagen and Regina's car were parked at the side of the road. Regina's car was also severely banged up, almost as badly as Jefferson's poor Jaguar sitting in the garage. Both Jim and Jefferson exited the vehicle to see what was going on.

"What happened here?" Jim asked, examining the damage more closely.

"There's a ward here," said Regina, feeling the air for traces of magic. Her fingertips pressed against an invisible barrier. "I was the first one here. If I'd been driving at normal speed, I might very well be dead right now. I know this spell. It's meant to keep out enemies. Did you not notice this before?"

Jim shook his head. "I didn't get this close to the mansion," he said. He watched as Emma drew a line in the dirt with a stick, marking the ward's perimeter. "It's strange you can't get through. Last time I was here, I think I remember Jefferson standing near that rock on the other side of the line."

"What did you say?" Regina asked, eyes narrowing.

"He had crashed his car too. I was helping him get it out of the ditch here," Jim explained, pointing to spot very near the ward line. He was trying to keep it as vague as he possibly could. Still, Jefferson motioned for Jim to quit talking immediately.

Regina turned to Jefferson. "And what exactly were you doing here when you had your accident?" she asked suspiciously.

Jefferson gulped. He was royally fucked. Jim wanted to know the answer, but not like this. What had he just done? If Jim had been any more alert, he would have known better than to say anything.

"Answer the question," David demanded. Where did he come from? Jim guessed Snow must be asleep in the hospital.

"I took a wrong turn the night before and I swerved so I wouldn't hit a deer," Jefferson said nervously. "I don't remember moving too far from the car. I don't know what Jim's talking about."

Nobody bought it. Emma stared him down. "He's lying," she said examining his face.

"I'm going to ask you one more time," David threatened. " _Answer the question._ "

He approached menacingly and Jefferson backed away, right over the line Emma had drawn. It was over. Whatever Jefferson had done, they caught him. Jim could pinpoint the exact moment when Jefferson dropped all pretense and decided to tell them the truth. He shut his eyes and took a breath, like he was facing a firing squad.

"I didn't know it was them!" Jefferson burst. "All right? The Queen pretended to be you and Hyde pretended to be Jekyll. You said you were going to fix me! And I believed you, because of all your bullshit about wanting to help me! I actually believed you. And then it all turned out to be fake.

“You want to know what you had me do? You had me break into Victor's lab while he was busy with patients to steal some chemicals that were supposed to be for me! "Jekyll" was going to use them to make some drugs that would actually work. Turns out, Hyde wanted them for his little split personality potion. I only found out when I went back, because the stuff he gave me drove me literally insane! So there. That's the truth."

Jefferson's face was red and puffy. His eyes were leaking. His hands shook. Everyone else had been stunned into silence. Jefferson began walking away in disgrace.

Regina stopped him. "Why didn't you tell us before?" she asked. She wasn't angry, more shocked than anything.

"Because I knew it would be the last nail in my coffin," Jefferson answered. "After what I did, you'd never let me have her back. Don't even try to deny it."

David was about to bust out the handcuffs. Jefferson scoffed at him. “Victor already knows what happened and he’s not pressing charges. Jim was there. Don’t think I didn’t catch you trying to eavesdrop at the hospital.”

”Jefferson, I-“ Jim began, only to be met with the same accusatory finger that he met in the woods.

”I think you’ve said more than enough,” Jefferson snapped. “Here’s what I know. When I came back, Hyde and the Queen were experimenting on some guy named Alonso. He split in half right in front of me, then held them off so I could get away. I don’t know if you’ve run into anybody looking for giants to fight, but that’s him.”

Don Quixote. He was another half of a person, just like Hyde and the Queen.

“That’s all I’ve got for you," Jefferson said, throwing up his hands. "The last thing I remember I was running for my car. I blacked out and woke up in the hospital almost a week later. If you don’t believe me, talk to Jim. Better yet, call Victor and ask him. He'll tell you.”

"Dr. Frankenstein disappeared,” said Emma.

Jefferson’s defenses dropped. “What? How? When?” His focused shifted completely. Jefferson hadn’t looked this distraught since the school was robbed.

”The hospital says he went out for lunch and never came back,” Emma answered.

”And you’re just telling me this now?” Jefferson asked, stomping his foot.

David stepped forward, getting in between them. “Hey!” David barked. “You’re one to talk!”

Jefferson balled up his fist. By the way his arm was twisting about, it was taking all of Jefferson’s will power not to punch David in the face. He unclenched his hand. He fixed his lapels. “Since the charges were dropped and I’ve already told you everything, if you don’t mind, I'd like to go home and get some sleep. I had a late night. Let me know when Victor turns up.”

Nobody stopped Jefferson as he walked toward his car, got in, and drove away. He brushed right past Jim without so much as a goodbye. Jim desperately wanted to know what was happening, why Jefferson did what he did. No one would tell him. They needed to get back to work. “This is all my fault,” Jim thought.

”You ran into him in town, you said?” asked Killian, sitting by Jim on a boulder.

”Oh, what’s it to you?” Jim responded sourly. “I found him in the forest and brought him to the hospital. I’ve been living with him for the past couple of days. And, no, he didn’t tell me about any of this.”

Regina came back to the group after doing a bit more reconnaissance. “There’s no getting in,” she said, catching her breath. “The spell’s got to be dropped from the inside. Either that or I spend a very long time working on a counter-spell.”

"So what? We're at a dead end?" Emma asked.

"Only temporarily," Regina assured them. "But until I bring these wards down, we might as well all go home. Something tells me I'm in for a very late night."

What now? Go back to Jefferson's? He was pissed and Jim knew he was the trigger that detonated whatever this mess was. He guessed he could try to get a ride back to Granny's. There was nowhere else for him to go, nothing left for him to do.

He overheard David and Emma discuss returning to the hospital to wake Snow. It was David's turn to stand in the red room. Jim assumed that was a euphemism for the sleeping curse. Jim would love to go back to sleep, but after staying in Jefferson's guest room, he'd have a hard time going back to the apartment.

* * *

 

Later that the evening at Our Lady of Eternal Hope, the Queen materialized with Hyde and Erik in front of the pipe organ. They had abducted him from his jail cell, just as Quasimodo arrived to bring him his compositions. To add insult to injury, Hyde tore away his mask to expose Erik’s true face. Quasimodo, despite his own features, was viscerally repelled by the sight.

“Even you?” said Erik sadly, as the Queen surrounded them in smoke.

Quasi ran to the spot where Erik disappeared and picked up his mask. _“Is that really what it’s like?”_ Quasi asked himself, once Erik had been spirited away. _“Is that how I make people feel?”_ For the first time in a very long time, Quasimodo hid his face as he ran back home. He was ashamed of how he reacted to Erik. He, of all people, should have known better.

“Why have you brought me here?” Erik asked, standing before Hyde and the Queen. “Do you plan to kill me for betraying you? Go ahead. You don’t frighten me.” The Queen summoned a mirror and held it close to Erik’s face. “Do you think I’m afraid of my own reflection? I’ve had to look at that monstrosity since the day I was born.”

The Queen rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you actually look at it?” she suggested, annoyed by his aloof tone.

Erik looked into the mirror, expecting to see the same ghastly visage he always saw. Instead, he saw something much, much worse. In the mirror, Erik saw the image of Trilby being dragged away by the De Villes at the carnival.

“Don’t worry. They promised not to bite,” the Queen cruelly reassured him. She lowered the mirror.

Erik lunged at her. “What have you done with her?!” he demanded, trying to grab her and tear her hair out. The Queen side-stepped him and Erik found himself in the path of Hyde. He grabbed him by the scruff and lifted Erik off his feet.

“It’s not so fun when you’re the one hanging by your neck, is it?” Hyde asked him. He dropped him on the ground. Erik begged for mercy. He promised to anything, anything they said if Trilby would be unharmed. “You can start by apologizing to the Queen.”

Erik glowered at her. “Forgive me, Your Highness. I forgot myself,” he said insincerely.

“All forgiven. I know how much she means to you,” said the Queen, feigning kindness. “We’re in a bit of a time crunch. Our enemies are closing in on us. There’s one more item we need to find and we could use a little diversion while we do it. Hyde and I had a very fun idea, if you’re willing to play along.”

Marishka and Verona burst through the doors, hauling Trilby along with them. The poor girl was in tears. The De Villes were true to their word though. She hadn’t been bit. Yet. Erik sat down and hid his face. He couldn’t let Trilby see him like this. She’d never be able to look at him again.

“Let me go!” Trilby cried, struggling against the vampires. “Why’ve you brought me back to this feckin’ place?”

“Watch your mouth!” chastised the Queen. “You’re in a place of worship.”

Trilby had to laugh. “You don’t look like the church-goin’ type to me.” Erik snorted. The situation was dire, but he always admired Trilby’s pluck.

"Neither do you," said the Queen to the De Villes, remembering their aversion to all things holy. "Shouldn't you both be balls of fire right now?"

Verona and Marishka showed Trilby their fangs to get her to stop squirming. "You didn't know?" said Marishka. "While they were handing out their crosses, we overheard the fairies mention the Dark Curse. When they regained their memories, the ground ceased to be consecrated. I've never been inside a church before. It's really very boring."

"Fascinating," said the Queen, equally bored. She turned back to Trilby. "La Svengali, it is such a privilege to finally hear your legendary voice. I'm surprised that's so... grating in person."

That infuriated Trilby. “That’s a real nice corset you got on. Did they not sell you anything to go over it?” she asked defiantly. Even the De Villes started snickering. “What are you laughin’ at? You’re no better. You look like a couple of regular brassers. Now what do you want with me? When Mr. Svengali finds out about this-”

The Queen and the De Villes growled at her. Verona threw her on the ground, infuriating Erik. He kept still. “Mr. Svengali is right here, my dear. You're here to be his incentive,” said the Queen, choosing ignore Trilby’s insults. “Erik, what say you? You said you’d do anything.”

“Mr. Svengali?” Trilby asked, looking at the man facing away from her. “Is that you?”

“We needed his talent,” the Queen told her. “We couldn’t expect him to perform without his brightest star.”

Trilby scoffed. “Oh, no! I ain’t singin’ for you!” she said, pulling herself up off the ground.

The Queen summoned a conch shell into her hand. “That won’t be necessary. Storybrooke already has quite an accomplished vocalist here. She’s only a mezzo-soprano, though, so you won’t have to worry about any competition. I also conveniently stole her voice. Now have a seat or I’ll do the same to you.”

Frightened, Trilby took a seat on a pew. She listened as Hyde explained their plan. Erik wouldn’t look at her. He was cloaked in shadow. She only knew him by his clothes. Hyde ended his monologue by asking for Erik’s agreement to the plot.

“Fine. If you promise to release her, I’ll do it,” said Erik, making room on the bench. The Queen sat next to him, watching as his fingers touched the keys. He began to play. Quietly, he sang.

_“It felt like I would be alone forever, until the day she came along. I put the words and melodies together. She is the music. I write the songs. I can write songs that make the whole world sing. I wrote her songs of love and simple things. I’ll write a song in hope she’ll be my wife, but first I write a song to save her life.”_

Erik played a chord on the organ. The Queen walked over to the piano and copied it. Regina’s music training as a young noble came back to her. They began a very simple, improvised duet.

Hyde was joined by two men, one tall and broad, the other slender. Both were very sickly looking. All three of them took out violins and played the ugly string of chords that hypnotized Trilby into singing. Verona took up the harp and Marishka played the flute. Once their little ensemble was in sync, the Queen lit up the instruments with her magic.

Erik began to sing again. _“One voice, singing in the darkness. All it takes is one voice singing the thoughts that plague their mind. When you look around, you’ll find there’s more than one voice singing out their darkness. Joining with that one voice, each and every note is an admission, each word’s a brand new composition.”_  

 _“It takes just one voice to cast a magic spell,”_ sang the Queen, clumsily keeping us with Erik’s playing.

“ _We need just one voice, clearer a bell,”_ sang Hyde, his baritone rich and deep.

 _“And that one voice is here inside this shell,”_ sang Hyde and the Queen together. The Queen picked up the conch shell and blew into it like a trumpet.

Out poured Ariel’s voice, which had been ripped from her weeks ago. Her voice blended with the instruments and, magically, everyone burst forth with song. The music emanated from the church, casting an enchantment over the town.

 _“Somewhere there’s a world that has the wisdom and the answers we are seeking,”_ sang the Queen, rising from the piano and raising the singing shell to the sky. _“Somewhere there’s a person with the power that we need to find our bliss. When the music hits them, I’ll have this town right where I want them, and I’ll be unstoppable as long as I have this… her voice!”_

 _“It’s takes just one voice, singing in the darkness,”_ they all sang, enchanted. Even Trilby was forced to sing along. Erik stopped playing. The deed was done. _“All it takes is one voice. Set it free and let it ring! Just one voice, it takes that one voice, and everyone will sing!”_


	15. The Music of the Night (Act I)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hyde and the Queen buy themselves some time by forcing Erik to cast a spell. Suddenly, everyone is Storybrooke is pouring out their deepest feelings through song. This proves especially complicated for Jim and Killian, who are still keeping their relationship a secret.

Hours later, Jim was still sitting in the hospital room with David. Emma and Killian had stepped out to get them all something to eat, and now it was just them and Snow. David watched her sleep in silence. Jim couldn't imagine what he must be thinking. David had explained the "red room" to him earlier. Right now, Snow’s sleeping mind was basically sitting in a fiery hell. Now David was preparing himself to take her place.

"Today's our anniversary, you know," David said, out of the blue. "It's sure not how I wanted to spend it." There was little humor in his voice.

"I'm sorry," Jim said sincerely. "If I'd only been faster..."

David shook his head. "It's not your fault," he told Jim. His eyes were red from crying. They looked back at Snow. Despite the nightmare her mind was enduring, she still looked so serene. It was eerie.

David took a red envelope out of his bag. "Make sure she reads this, okay?" he asked Jim.

"Of course," said Jim, as David stood up and faced his wife. It's the least he could do.

Hanging his head, David said, "The one year I actually plan ahead, this happens. Can’t we ever just have a normal life?” David started sobbing again. He looked at the envelope clenched in his hands. "To hell with it."

David opened it and withdrew a beautiful floral greeting card. He read from it aloud, hoping Snow could hear. "Snow, the day we met, I never knew how completely you would change my life. You stole from me and, in the process, you also stole my heart. God, I don't even know what I'm saying." He turned to Jim. "I'm terrible with words."

Jim wasn't any better. "Just speak from the heart," he advised, having nothing else to offer.

David reached down and took Snow’s hand. Taking a deep breath to collect himself, David began to sing. “ _I never knew I could feel like this, like I’ve never seen the sky before. I want to vanish inside your kiss. Every day, I love you more and more. Listen to my heart. Can you hear it sing, telling me to give you everything? Seasons may change, winter to spring, but I love you until the end of time. Come what may, come what may, I will love you until my dying day.”_

He sang beautifully. Had he written that himself? Jim could swear he heard an orchestra behind David's words. David leaned over and placed a kiss on Snow's lips, then sat down on his bed. He was shocked when Snow awoke and he didn't immediately drift off to sleep.

Snow beamed when she caught his eyes. David got up, certain he must be dreaming. Snow sat up and started singing as well. “ _Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place. Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace. Suddenly my life doesn’t seem such a waste. It all revolves around you.”_ She got out of bed and led David into a dance.

However it happened, Jim decided he should let them have their reunion alone. He tried to creep out of the room and bumped into Emma and Killian returning with fast food. Apparently, they ran into Regina on their way back. Emma looked on in amazement as her parents slow danced in front of their hospital beds. _  
_

_“There’s no mountain too high, no river too wide. Sing out this song and I’ll be there by your side. Storm clouds may gather and stars may collide, but I love you,"_ sang Snow sweetly.

David repeated with equal tenderness, _"I love you till the end of time, ‘cause I'd die without you.”_

 _“How I love you.”_ Snow cupped his cheek, wiping away a tear. _“Suddenly, the world seems such a perfect place."_  They spun around and sang together as music swelled,  _"Come what may!"_

 _"Come what may!"_ Jim echoed involuntarily. He clutched his chest. What the hell was that?

Snow and David didn't notice. _"Come what may!"_ they repeated even more passionately.

Suddenly Emma, Killian, Regina, and Jim all sang out with fervor, _"Come what may!"_ As David dipped Snow, everyone in the vicinity belted in harmony, _"I will love you until my dying day!”_

Just as David was about to triumphantly kiss his wife, the song ended and he slumped over into unconsciousness. Snow gasped as he hit the floor. Everyone was left breathless and confused by what just happened.

Emma was going to run for a nurse, when something shifted. The music hadn’t stopped. It just changed. Jim could hear a crunchy guitar riff replace the orchestra, but it was nowhere to be seen. This was not normal.

 _“What was that? I don’t know what’s happening,”_ Jim asked the others.

 _“What was that? Tell me what is happening.”_ Killian joined him.

 _“What was that? Tell me just what's happening,"_ Emma sang in chorus.

 _“What was that? Tell us why it's happening,”_ sang Snow, completing their quartet.

They all looked to Regina, as if she would have a valid answer. _“Why do you think I'd know?”_ Regina sang irritably. " _I know it's some kind of magic._ _This rage inside I thought was gone is coming out of me in song. This flame still burns inside of me. I'm hearing secret harmonies."_

Killian and Jim helped Snow get David into his hospital bed, trying to process what was going on. _“It’s like I have to sing what I feel inside, just to get out what I’m trying to hide, till I belt from the top of my lungs. What’s going on?”_ Killian shouted. He backed away from the others, afraid of what might come out of his mouth next.

Emma held her heart. _“It’s in the air. I’m feeling it too, but I can’t explain it. My soul is bare. My heart's on a new rhythm and I can’t contain it. I can feel my voice burst into song with no hesitation. And I have no choice. It must be magic. There’s no explanation."_ She inhaled sharply. _"I can’t stop the music. Can you? Can you?”_

 _“I can’t stop the music. Why though? Why though?"_  sang Snow, puzzled by the song's meter. She, again, looked to Regina for answers.

 _“I can’t stop the music. Someone stop the music!”_ Regina yelled to whoever could hear.

 _“You can’t stop the music!”_ answered Regina’s voice behind her.

It was the Queen, dressed even more ridiculously than usual. It was like she had taken a bath in glitter. She leaned against the doorway, having way too much fun for their own good. She was doing elaborate riffs just for the hell of it.

 _“Tonight, we’re gonna have ourselves a real good time. So, look alive! Soon, the world will be turning inside out and writhing around in agony."_ They opened their mouths, but she held out her finger to silence them. _"Don’t stop me now. Don’t stop me 'cause we’re having a good time!”_

She spun around, revealing Hyde behind her. He was smiling deviously. _“Say goodbye to the future. Mourn the dying of the light. The game has changed. You’ve no control,”_ sang Hyde with menace. “ _Sit tight in your corners. Cancel all the plans that you’ve arranged. There’s no control.”_

The Queen sauntered into the room, mocking them. _“As the kids say, the beat has dropped. The music in you can’t be stopped. And all the secrets you've tried to hide will spill forth like the song inside!”_

Jim and the others all backed away from the villains, Killian especially. Hyde gave Jim a dismissive look. He knew Jim was in Storybrooke, but he didn’t care. Jim was glad he already confessed to having worked for him.

 _“The reason for this curse is certain, distract us in our darkest hour. This is deranged,”_ growledRegina. _“We’ve no control.”_

There were screams morphing into opera trills as more people fell under the spell. As the hospital began to panic, Hyde and the Queen were completely calm. They were the only people in the room. _“No longer trapped on bended knee, we’ll soon control our destiny,”_ sang Hyde proudly to the Queen. He kissed her hand.

Emma stepped forward in defiance and disgust. _“We heard about your scheme. We know about your plan.”  
_

The Queen wasn’t impressed by her bluster. _“I think you should run while you still can!”_ the Queen sang, igniting a ball of fire in her fist.

Hyde rolled his eyes and took the Queen's hand. They didn’t have time to waste on them.  _“Forbidden worlds call to me for us to see. We’re in control. Now see how far a man will go to shake his past, take back control.”_ The Queen blew them all a kiss as they vanished into thin air.

Doctors and patients ran around in terror, thinking they had gone insane or were in the throes of some seizure. Snow was haunted, returning to David for grounding. Emma looked violated. Killian was downright mortified, blocking his closed mouth with his fist.

Jim looked around at the panic surrounding him. “ _Everyone’s scared by this curse. So now we’re singing. It could be worse. Still, it’s awfully strange to me, the chaos and the harmony!”_

 _“No control!”_ cried the entire hospital. _“I can't believe I've no control! It's all deranged! I can't believe I've no control! It's all deranged!”_ This melodic mantra continued as Emma grabbed Killian and exited through a side door. Jim chased after them, assuming Snow and Regina were right behind.

Jim opened the exit door onto a terrace above the first floor. He had thought they were all making an escape, but when Jim saw Killian take Emma into his arms, he realized they came to be alone. In the distance, he heard a cacophony of music coming from the town. Whatever caused this curse, it had hit everyone.

Killian asked Emma how she was feeling after what just happened. Emma, compelled by the curse, sang not of Hyde or the Queen, but of her parents. The sun had set since they had gone into the hospital. As the music of the night grew louder, so did Emma. Though he knew he shouldn’t eavesdrop, Jim sneaked down the stairs and listened in.

 _"I often hear them say the way they feel. It always shows. Each day, it grows,"_ Emma sang, clear as a bell. _"It's hard to use those words that make love real. I don't go near the words, as if I fear the words, but now, I must confess I need to hear the words often to soften my doubtfulness."_

Emma crossed her arms in the chill of the night. Looking toward the horizon, she sang, _“Right from the start, you were a thief. You stole my heart. I was your willing victim. I let you see some parts of me that weren't all that pretty. With every touch, you fixed them. You say you're telling me the truth. You know I’d never lie to you. You’re given me your reasons. Now your heart's on your sleeve. Sing them to me now and I’ll believe.”_

Killian rubbed the back of his neck. He didn’t seem quite sure what to say. Jim never realized Emma was so insecure. It made sense not to trust Killian about Jim, but it seems like she had trouble trusting anybody.

 _“I'm not a perfect person,"_ Killian began. He set his hand on her shoulder. _"There's many things I wish I didn't do. But being with you has helped me to grow, so I just want you to know. I've found a reason for me to change who I used to be, a reason to start over new, and the reason is you.”_

Emma sat down on a bench overlooking the town. She still couldn't look him in the eye. _“Maybe I’m just afraid, deep in my soul, that love doesn’t last. I’ve had to find other ways to make it alone and keep a straight face. I've always lived my life keeping a comfortable distance. Up until now, I had sworn that I was content with loneliness, because nothing else was ever worth the risk.”_

Emma turned and stared at him, not breaking eye contact. She was serious. _“Neal was not the exception. Graham was not the exception. You are the only exception. You are my only exception. And I’m afraid one day you’ll leave me too.”_

 _"That’s something I’d never do,”_ Killian protested, kneeling beside her. She joined his melody. “ _I_ _found a reason for me to change who I used to be, to let down my walls, let you through and the reason is you.”_

Emma stood up and faced Killian. _“I've got a tight grip on reality, and I can't let go of what's in front of me here. I really want to trust in what you’re saying. Give me some kind of proof it's not a dream. Actions speak louder, sure. Love can endure without being told. I need reminding, yes, a verbal caress to keep out the cold."_

Killian wrapped his arms around her from behind, setting his chin on her shoulder. _"Then you'll never be cold."_ The wind blew her hair all over. Killian cradled her head to keep it in place.

Emma sang adoringly, _"Continue to go where your heart is leading you. I want you so and I don't mind needing you. I've been out here on my own, so make your feelings known. Don't ever stop saying 'I love you.'"_

Killian raised her hand up and let her slowly twirl. " _It's easy to say. It's easy to do. I've never loved anyone like I love you._ _Please, trust me any doubtful day to kiss your fears away,"_ Killian sang tenderly. He placed a small, soft kiss on her lips. " _I'll never stop saying 'I love you.’"_

As they danced, Jim sunk to ground, huddling in the fetal position around a corner.  _“He was never mine to lose. Why regret what just can’t be? These are words he’ll never say, not again, not to me.”_

Jim didn’t hear what Killian said next. He pulled Emma close and whispered something into her ear. She melted into his arms. Killian had a way of doing that to people. Killian and Emma kissed again, chastely at first, but Jim quickly turned away when he saw the way Killian’s hand was touching Emma’s body. He didn’t want to see or hear any more.

He clutched his stomach. It was coming, more singing pouring out like vomit. He decided to leave before he was discovered. He passed through a drafty walkway between buildings. His ponytail got caught in the breeze. He sang quietly and with little accompaniment.

 _“When I was younger, I saw my mother cry and curse at the wind. My dad broke her heart and I watched as she tried to reassemble it. Mom always swore that she would never let herself forget. That was the day that I promised I'd never sing of love if it did not exist. You were the only exception."_ Behind him, Jim heard Emma sing, _“And I’m on my way to believing.”_

Jim walked despondently back to Snow and David’s room. The hospital staff and patients were calming down, beginning to adapt to their new musical world. People were starting to sing just to get regular medical attention.

He knocked on the door. Snow and Regina were discussing what to do next. David was still asleep. Was he singing even in the red room? Regina was certain that this spell was a diversion to keep them away from the Sorcerer’s Mansion. In her opinion, they should just ignore it.

Emma and Killian came back from outside. They all made a plan to meet again in the morning. Snow would wake David so he could be present. Jim bid them all good night, somehow attracting a barbershop quartet to back him up. He rolled his eyes and sighed exhaustedly as he left. This was going to be hell.

With nowhere else to go, Jim began the walk back to his room at Granny’s. The sound of the city was dying down. Maybe people were frightened by the spell and staying in their homes. By the time he caught sight of Main Street, Jim was the only one left outside. A streetlight flickered out above him, plunging him into darkness.

 _"Hello, darkness, my old friend."_ With no one around to hear him, Jim opened up and sang, _"I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known. Don't know where it goes, but it's only me and I walk alone._

_”One hundred years, I've walked alone upon streets of cobblestone beneath the dim glow of a street lamp. I turned my collar to the cold and damp, till my eyes were stabbed by a familiar sight. He split the night and broke the sound of silence.  
_

_"I bite my tongue and try to hide my sorrow till tomorrow, till tomorrow. I'm singing words I've never shared, exposing hurts I never dared, but my words like silent raindrops fall. He heard me call, but all I hear is silence._

_“I find it kind of funny. I find it kind of sad. The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had. I find it hard to tell him. I've had all I can take. Every day we talk in circles. It's a very, very mad world.  
_

_"My shadow's the only one who walks beside me. My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating. Sometimes I wish someone out there would find me, till then I walk alone._

_”Until the morning sun appears, making light of all my fears, I'll dry the tears I've never shown in this world that's full of happiness that I have never known. I love him, but still I walk alone."_

The lonely guitar strains faded away into nothing. When Jim got to Granny's, there was a notice on his door. Apparently, her goodwill was running out. She was going to start charging rent. At least meals would still be free to tenants from Ingary. “Guess I need to get a job,” Jim thought, taking the note and stuffing it in his pocket.

Through the open window, Jim could hear people still singing down at the bar. He felt a pull to go join them. It wasn't just the magic. Jim was curious about Jefferson, how he'd sound and what he'd sing. Then he pictured Jefferson's angry, distraught face the last time he saw him. His song might not be pretty. Better to give him space. He shut his window tightly and climbed into bed. As Jim drifted off to sleep, he could hear an orchestra tuning up to play.

It was dark. Jim was sitting in inky blackness. Then the lights rose on the stage of an empty theatre. In his mind, the red curtains parted for a teenage boy standing alone on stage. Jim squinted to see. It was him. Jim sat by himself in the audience as his seventeen-year-old self began to sing to the silhouette of a woman.

 _"Hey, Mom, look at me. Think back and talk to me. Did I grow up according to plan? Now I'll try hard to make it. I just want to make you proud_ , _because we lost it all. Nothing lasts forever. I'm sorry I can't be perfect. I hear adventure's call and when I find this treasure, I promise that things will be perfect. I'll do my best. What else can I do? I'll try hard to make you proud of your boy!"  
_

Jim realized that the lights behind him were the smouldering ruins of the Admiral Benbow Inn. As the flames went out, a ship rose out of the stage. It was _The Hispaniola_ , staffed by Long John Silver and his pirates. Framed by blue sky and sea, they sang. _"You're just a teenage dirtbag, baby. You're just a teenage dirtbag, baby. You're just a teenage dirtbag, baby. That's you."_ Hardly a sea shanty.

Then the spotlight fell onto another scruffy, young lad. His hair was shaggy and his feet were bare. It was Killian. The young Jim joined him on the deck as they set sail.

 _"It's not too far to paradise, at least it's not for me. If the wind is right, you'll find tranquility. The canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see,”_ Killian sang to Jim as he showed him how to adjust the sails. _“Sailing takes you far away to where you want to be. Just a dream and wind to carry me and soon I will be free. Fantasy, it gets the best of me when I'm sailing.”_

 _”Caught up in his reverie, every word’s a symphony,"_ sang Jim rapturously to the oblivious Killian. Young Jim and Killian sat on the edge of the ship. They looked into each other's eyes as Treasure Island rolled into view. They hopped down onto the briny beach with the pirates.

Jim and Killian joyously leapt into a mountain of gold. Jim sang, _"When you're on a holiday, you can't find words to say the things that come to you. Tell me, do you feel it too?"_ Killian replied, _"On an island in the sun, getting rich and having fun, it makes me feel so fine. I think I've lost my mind. This is our life on holiday!"_

Dropping his gold, Jim took Killian’s hand and spun him around as the sun sank low. _"_ _Kiss me beneath the milky twilight. Meet me out on the moonlit shore. Lift your open hand. Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance. The silver moon's sparkling, so kiss me."_ Silhouetted against the shimmer of the water, they kissed for the first time.

Now it was Killian's turn to sing. In the fire light, he whispered, _"I never dreamed that a kiss could be as sweet as this, but now I know that it can."_

Jim replied, bringing him into his arms, _"I used to wander alone without a love of my own. I was a desperate man." "On this night of a thousand stars, we'll love from here to eternity. On this night in a million nights, fly away with me."_

Suddenly, they were flying, dancing across the sky. _"I have found him. He's an angel, with the dust of the stars in his eyes. We are dancing. We are flying and he's taking me back to the skies!"_ Their feet landed back on the deck of _The Hispaniola_. It was time to go home.

Sitting at the edge of the deck, Killian rested his head on Jim's shoulder. _"Wouldn't it be nice if we were older, then we wouldn't have to wait so long? Wouldn't it be nice to live together in the kind of world where we'd belong?"_ Jim took his hand and crooned, _"And the more we talk about it, it only makes it worse to live without it."_

The ship and the sea gave way to Porthaven. They were sitting in the newly rebuilt Admiral Benbow Inn. Killian looked at the people around them warily and sang, _"Let's keep this our dirty little secret. Don't tell anyone. One day, we'll sail into the sunset. Till then, who has to know? Don't smile and gaze at me. Don't tell the blokes too much. Don't laugh at my jokes too much. People will say we're in love."  
_

A squad of naval officers marched on from stage left. _"You can sail the seven seas in the navy. You can put your mind at ease in the navy. Come on, people, make a stand. Come protect the mother land. Come defend your fellow man in the navy!"_ Jim and Killian both marched away with them.

Killian came back on stage in a naval uniform. His hair was combed and his beard had grown in. _"I’m the valedictorian, top of my class. I steal the heart of every lad and lass. Things are going great and they're only getting better. I’m doing all right. I’m getting good grades. My future's so bright I've gotta wear shades.”_ He put on a pair of newly-invented sunglasses.

Jim came in also in uniform. His ponytail had been shorn off. His smile was also gone. He stopped Killian's reverie with bad news.

_”I heard it from a friend who heard it from a friend who heard it from another we've been messing around. They say that you're my lover. Somebody blew our cover. They're talking about you, how they might bring you down. I think I've got to run, baby. I know we're having fun, baby, but you're under the gun so I think I'm gonna run."_

Killian wrapped his arms around Jim, not wanting to let him go. Jim broke out of his embrace and handed him his jacket. Killian took out one of his earrings and fastened it to Jim's ear. He took his hand. _"Make of our hands one hand. Make of our hearts one heart. Make of our vows one last vow. Only death will part us now."_

 _The Jewel of the Realm_ rolled in. The crew of sailors, led by Liam, sang _, “Come sail away. Come sail away. Come sail away...”_

Jim was going to have the last word though. _“See the pyramids along the Nile. Watch the sunrise from a tropic isle. Just remember darling all the while, you belong to me.”_

He kissed him one last time before Killian got on his ship and sailed away with Liam. Jim sadly watched him go with his ailing mother at his side. He sat down and began to write a letter in the glow of a candle.

_"Cross the country on some fancy train. See the jungle when it's wet with rain. Just remember till you're home again, you belong to me. I've been so alone without you. Maybe you'll be lonesome too."_

Jim checked his calendar. Today was the day. Killian was coming home. _"But I know you'll appear. The wind is good and right for sailing. I saved each letter that I wrote by candlelight. Tonight, when you're here, you'll heal my heart which has been ailing. And now it seems my lonely days are through. I've been waiting for you."_

Clutching his letters, Jim ran to the wharf and waited. Summer turned to autumn. Autumn turned to winter. Winter turned to spring. _"I know it's today. I know it's today. I know it's today!"_ He kept repeating that, but Killian never came.

Finally, someone tapped on Jim's shoulder. It was Long John Silver. He whispered something into Jim's ear. There was cannon fire offstage. The lights went blood red. A massive hook was silhouetted against the sky, eclipsing the sun. That was the moment Jim learned that Killian was dead. He was catatonic.

Then Jim started to pace. _"Goddamn it. You did it. I knew you would do it. You asshole, I hate you. I totally blame you. And, really, how could you?_ _I hate you, I hate you. I hate that I hate you. I hate that I love you. I love you! I_ loved _you. I loved you! I lost you. I hate you. Goddamn you, you motherfucker!"_ Jim broke down and cried.

_"In my life, I've always said I don't need anyone. I loved our life and I loved you. I swore that I'd love without wanting or needing you, but it's too late. I need you too. You're the reason I thought my life might not be meaningless. You’re my North Star, my map to grace, my single good decision in a life of many awful ones, my one true love, my one embrace. With you, I had finally found my place."_

Silver was still there in the background. He stepped forward into Jim's light. _"The boy was killed by Captain Hook. A vicious pirate, a ruthless crook. He plundered from here to Arendelle and those he encountered were sent off to hell by the Captain. Yes, Captain Hook, the deadliest pirate in Eton."_

Jim was shaken, fuming. _"I have not heard of Captain Hook, but he will pay for the life he took. If I have to chase him the around the world, I'll make sure into the ground he's hurled. Someone has got to throw the book at Captain Hook, soon the deadest pirate in Eton."_

 _The Jolly Roger_ rose out of the ocean. Jim pursued it all across the stage. Silver was close behind. He took up his weapons and his long leather coat. Somehow his hair grew back. Jim reached the edge of a high cliff and took out his spyglass. _The Jolly Roger_ sailed off into the wings and Jim threw it on the ground in a rage.

 _"I had him! His ship was there moored at the dock. Could you not hear the ticking clock? Now he’s gone to a world, a magical isle. It’s filled with people who are cruel and vile. Pirates and scum rule every mile... but not for long."_  Jim climbed down from his perch, gazing out into the audience with a crazed look in his eye.

 _“They all deserve to die. Tell you why, Mr. Silver, tell you why. The life of a pirate should be made brief. For the rest of us, it would be relief. They all are going to die. And I will find him if it takes me years. In the meantime, I'll practice on more buccaneers. My love lies in ashes and I'll never see his face again. But the work waits! I'm alive at last and I'm full of joy!"_ Jim raised his cutlass to the sky. Lights out.

Jim awoke, screaming, to the buzz of his alarm. He'd forgotten to shut it off. He was drenched in sweat, panting like a dog. He'd never had a dream that vivid and intense. It had been lovely for a while, relieving his glory days with Killian set to some truly strange music.

The end though. He couldn't shake the bloodthirsty look on his own face, bathed in red, ready to slaughter the next pirate he saw. Had that really been him? No, Jim wasn't a murderer. He'd killed. He certainly killed, but he never murdered. His one and only murder would have been... Killian.

 _"Isn't it ironic?"_ Jim sang, catching himself off-guard. He'd forgotten all about the Queen’s spell. _"A little too ironic?"_ He kept trying to speak, but music and lyrics kept coming out. When he felt his vocal chords begin to vibrate independent of his will, he clamped his hand down on his mouth.

“The second I open my mouth, music’s going to pour out," he thought, trying to strategize. "That’s fine. We're fine. I’m sure everyone is doing their best to keep control of the situation. I should be able to manage to keep quiet until they break the spell. No more songs about Killian. That was one hell of a dream though.”

Jim dressed in silence and crept down the stairs. The diner wasn't open yet. There wasn't anybody making any kind of noise. Jim sneaked out the door and down the steps to the sidewalk. When he got to the street, everything appeared normal. People were out quietly walking. Cars were driving about. There wasn't any music. Life was normal.

Cautiously, Jim started down the street. He barely took ten steps when he started feeling a tickle in his throat. “Storybrooke. It’s a quiet seaport," Jim forced himself to say. It was painful to resist adding a melody. "Not a sound from across the bay. _A quiet town full of quiet people, waking up to say…”_

The bells in the clock tower rang, flooding the street with music. The unseen orchestra fired up. And so it began. _"Good day!"_ sang a man. _"Good day!"_ sang a woman. _"Good day! Good day! Good day!"_

Jim groaned. He was never going to get through this. “ _Oh God, I woke up today thinking I could survive this curse. Goddamn it. Why did those stupid bells have to ring? Now I have to sing! The rhythm from town is calling me down. I have no choice but to join the throng. Whatever. I’ll raise my voice. Hopefully, they’ll all drown out my song!”_

Suddenly, without warning, people began to dance around Jim. They all started singing at once. And they were all so happy. It was unnatural.

_“Good morning, Storybrooke! Every day is a brand-new book, full of wonder and fantasy. Hear the magical symphony. Good morning, Storybrooke! Each night we turn to the heavens and look for a star shining out of the blue and make a wish that comes true!"_

People were seriously starting to invade Jim's personal space. Suddenly, Belle appeared outside the library. _“Good morning, Belle!”_ sang Jim, losing all control of his mouth.

 _“Good day!”_  Belle sang back. Her cheeriness was just unsettling.  _”How are you this beautiful day? Isn't this a beautiful morning?"_ she asked _._

 _“Very,"_ sang Jim, continuing on his way. His smile dropped the second she couldn't see. " _Oh God, is this really necessary?"_

Then a short, grizzled man sang, _"Oh, what a beautiful morning! Oh, what a beautiful day. I've gotta beautiful feeling everything's going my way!"_

The way he swung around a lamppost was positively baffling to Jim. Even more baffling was his name tag that said “Grumpy.” Were the people here really this happy all the time? It must just be the uptempo music.

" _Shouldn't this all alarm us?"_ sang Jim, gawking at people who were giddily dancing with umbrellas and brooms. _"We woke up to find we’re still under this curse. The Queen cast it to disarm us, but I strangely cannot wait to hear the second verse."_

Jim stopped himself from joining the mob. This was not happening. He couldn't afford to get carried away. " _It's just another day... but the morning sun is stunning! I wish that I was running far away. It's just another day. I am barely out of bed, already filling up with dread but that's okay!"_

Everyone got very still, crouching down like they were waiting for something. It was giving Jim the creeps. He tried to get away, but people kept following him.

 _"It's a typical..." "Incredible!" "A regular..." "Exceptional!" "An ordinary..." "Extraordinary Storybrooke day!"_ Jim wanted to cry. He just needed to get to the station in peace.

 _"Someone show me a way to get out of here, 'cause I hope and I pray I'll get out of here. Please, won't somebody say I'll get out of here. Someone give me a hand. Don't just stand there!"_ Jim was disturbed when people began singing along with him.

_"Gee, it sure would be swell to get out of here. Bid this medley farewell and get out of here. I'd move heaven and hell just to stop singing. If I don't, then I think I might drop singing. Or perhaps my poor lungs will just pop singing. Please just stop or I might blow my top singing! Believe me, I've got to get out of this song!"_

In the middle of the street, Jim found himself pulled into the middle of a choreographed dance everyone knew by heart. He had no control over his body, but he didn't have the strength to care anymore. Drums were bouncily pounding. He succumbed to the joy. No one was looking at him oddly. He might as well enjoy the ride.

They took a deep breath and belted out the last refrain. _“Good morning, Storybrooke! Every day is a brand-new book, full of wonder and fantasy. Hear the magical symphony. Good morning, Storybrooke! Tonight, we'll turn our eyes to the heavens and look for a star shining out of the blue and soon our wish will come true!" "Good morning!" "Good day!"_

The song ended with a button. They all dropped their arms. Jim nearly fell over from exhaustion. Everyone shuffled back to their daily routines, leaving Jim dumbstruck with a sore throat. He was free, for now at least. Everything was so saccharine, he was about ready to puke. He needed to get to the station. As he bolted down the street, he prayed no one was recording all that.

When Jim got to the Sheriff’s Department, he took a minute to catch his breath. He needed to collect his thoughts. If he was going to be anywhere near Killian, he had to be careful. Jim still couldn't shake that dream he had, how happy he had been dancing with Killian, and then what a monster he had become.

He inhaled. _"Everything's all right. Yes, everything's fine."_ As ready as he'd ever be, Jim entered the building.

He waved hello to Happy, who was wearing what looked to be earmuffs. He motioned Jim over and handed him a pair of his own. Happy held up a notepad. It said "noise-cancelling headphones." Jim put them on. They were emitting some kind of strange frequency. Happy flipped the paper over. "White noise", it said. It seemed to work. Jim wasn't feeling inclined to do anymore singing. Happy handed him a pad and pen. Apparently, that's how they were communicating.

Happy brought Jim to the backroom where Emma and Killian were seated. They were both wearing headphones too. Jim learned via printed agenda that Regina was off attempting to bring down the wards around the mansion. Unfortunately, the music was interfering with her ability to cast spells. Her plan to just ignore the problem was a failure. It was up to the four of them to find a way to break the curse.

Jim smacked his forehead. It was so obvious. Erik. He jail cell had been empty when Jim passed by. The Queen had taken him in the night. Somehow he'd inflicted a mass hypnosis on the town. Strange, Jim didn't recall any ugly violin strains. The first order of business on David's whiteboard was simply, "Find the Phantom."

Emma got up and wrote "mansion" on the board. The Queen would probably be keeping him in her stronghold. They couldn't get in. David had even swallowed his pride and tried calling Jefferson for help, but no answer.

"Circus?" Jim wrote. "Clues? Break the spell ourselves?" No one had any better ideas.

Killian raised his hand. He held up his pad of paper. "Theatre. Church." Emma sighed. She sarcastically scribbled on her own pad, "Let's split up, gang!"

They made their plan. Emma and David would take the fairground. Killian and Jim would take the theatre. They'd meet up afterward at the church. Jim followed Killian to his car, feeling fairly confident that everything would be more or less fine. At least, David and Emma wouldn't be around. And it should still be less uncomfortable than that godawful poker game.

He sat down and buckled in. A whole new wave of anxiety crashed down on him when he saw Killian reach for the steering wheel. Could he actually drive this thing? Jim noticed that the steering wheel had been outfitted with spokes like a ship's helm. It wasn't just decorative. It actually helped Killian drive. Jim was impressed by the ingenuity.

They got parked. Killian flashed his badge at the doorman to get inside. Apparently, rehearsals for _Into the Woods_ had been cancelled. Jim guessed that it would be hard to sing Stephen Sondheim's words when your own keep gushing out in verse. The doorman let them into the main auditorium.

Jim was transported back to the theatre in his dream. He could feel music welling up inside his chest. The headphones were starting to lose their potency. He tore them off and begged Killian to do the same. Killian looked around. The room was empty. He removed the headphones. "What?" he wrote down, a little irritated.

“ _There’s a melody inside my head that starts when you’re around,”_ Jim sang, looking over his shoulder. “ _I swear that if you could hear it, it would make such an almighty sound. There’s a fire starting to ignite, taking that melody and bringing it to the light.”_

Killian thought that Jim was finished, but he kept going as walked to the stage. _“The stars above us remind me of us. They keep me thinking that we could have had it all. The scars of your love, they leave me breathless. I can’t help-”_

Jim was silenced by Killian's hand over his mouth. _“Don’t speak! Don’t say another word, mate. What if someone heard, mate? You'll only make things worse._ _Don't speak! I know just what you’re saying, so you can stop explaining. Wait till we break this curse."_

 _"You and me, we used to be together every day, together always,"_  Jim sang sadly. " _I really feel like I'm losing my best friend. I can't believe that this is the end. It looks as though you're letting go, but there's something I think you ought to know."_

Sighing, Killian resigned himself to letting Jim get all his singing out. Jim bounded up the stairs to the stage. " _Lately, I've been losing sleep dreaming about the way things used to be. Don't you miss those moments that were ours? We weren't just counting treasure. We were counting stars."_

Killian walked up the steps. The pain in Jim's voice was devastating. It killed Killian to tell Jim to stop, but this wasn't the time. _"Mate, somebody's bound to hear us if we keep this up. I know that it's your soul, but could you bottle it up? Now get the point or get out of the joint. Please, you're killing me with all of this talk about love, love, love, love, love..."_

Killian stopped himself before he got swept away. _"There's a song inside my head I'm trying to hold back. Believe me, Jim, I miss our little talks. Soon this will be over and we'll deal with our past."_

“ _You used to speak so free when we were young and full of life and full of love,"_ Jim sang, frustrated. _"You'd gone, gone, gone away. I thought you disappeared. All that's left was the ghost of you. We were torn, torn, torn apart."_

“ _There's nothing we can do,"_ Killian sighed. _"Just let it go. We'll talk again soon."_  He started putting on his headphones.

 _"Sure! Run, run, run from me! Just run away. I’ll see you when I fall asleep!"_ Jim shouted at him. _"Wake me up when it's all over. Till then give me the cold shoulder. All this time, I was looking for you. Turns out, I was the one who was lost."_

Jim started searching around the backstage for clues. That's what they came to do, after all. If Killian wanted to get down to business, they would. Jim grabbed hold of a rope and looked up to where it disappeared in the rafters. From behind him, a familiar hand grabbed the rope beneath his own. It was like the day they met, adjusting the sails on _The Hispaniola._

Killian had his headphones off. He had something he wanted to say, something genuine. _"I didn't really mean to hurt you. I didn't want to have to go. I know I made you cry, but Jim, if I could turn back time, if I could find a way, I'd take back the way I hurt you."_

 _"So you'd stay?"_ Jim asked, piercing Killian's armor.

 _"If I could reach the stars, I'd give them all to you,"_ Killian sang, avoiding the question.

 _"Then you'd love me again like you used to do?"_ Jim sang. Killian was silent after that. Jim figured. _"My world was shattered. I was torn apart, like someone took a knife and drove it deep in my heart. When I heard you died, I tried to be so strong, but I lost everything and you just said so long."_

Killian stood up straight. It was not an easy decision for him, leaving to become a pirate. He told Jim already. " _I gave you my reasons but they weren't good enough."_

Jim flapped his hand open and shut like Killian's mouth. _"Yeah, you gave me a million reasons you had to walk away. Guess I wasn't a good reason to stay."_

Killian turned away and sat on the edge of the stage. _"Maybe I didn't love you quite as well as I could have. Maybe I didn't treat you quite as good as I should have. All the things I should have said and done, I never took the time, but you were always on my mind."_

 _"I was always on your mind,"_ Jim echoed sarcastically, unimpressed.

Killian looked him dead in the eyes. _"You were everywhere to me. When I'd close my eyes, it's you I'd see. Every thought, everything, every song I'd ever sing... You're the only one I knew who made me believe I'm not alone."_

 _"You're not alone,"_ Jim said from across the stage. He believed him.

_"Sometimes I’d go out by myself and I’d look across the water and I’d think of all the things we used to do. In my head, I’d paint a picture. When I found you here, you could say I was surprised. I missed your tousled hair and the smoulder in your eyes. Why don’t you come on over? Don’t make me a fool again. Why don’t you come dance with me, Killian?"_

The look on Killian's face asked for some explanation. _"Last night, you lit the stage up with your sparkling eyes of blue. Graceful as an angel's wing, I dreamed a dance with you. You whispered to me softly. You told me you'd be true. We spun around a thousand stars. I dreamed a dance with you. I can hear the sound of violins. That is how the trance begins. Make me swoon as only you know how. Dance with me. Sway me now."_

Killian shook his head, in disbelief that Jim would even ask such a thing. _"I don’t feel like dancing, mate. I think we ought to move. My heart could take the chance, but my two feet can’t find the groove. Now maybe I could muster up a little waltz, a gentle sway, but I don’t feel like dancing. There'll be no dancing today."_

Jim rolled his eyes and pulled Killian back onto the stage. They were both getting lost in the music. Even the lights were changing around them. The audience disappeared. It was only them.

 _"Now, don't you dare hold back. Just keep your eyes on me. You're not under attack. Shut up and dance with me! Just think of how it used to be. Killian, shut up and dance with me!"_ Somehow Jim managed to get Killian to dance. He instinctively went for the left hand, which had been replaced by a sharp, hooked object. Jim adjusted.

Killian started opening up. He was even smiling. _"When I hold you like this and I see you like that, I have to admit that it's all coming back to me. There were mountains of gold. There were glimmers of light."_

 _"There were things I never thought I'd do. With you, it all felt so right. There were nights of endless pleasure, the kind the law would not allow."_ Jim held Killian's face in his hands. _"If I forgive you all this and you forgive me all that, we'll forgive and forget. This is all coming back to me. I can't believe that you're coming back to me now!"_  

Jim tried to kiss him, but Killian pushed him away. " _Jim, we are never, ever, ever getting back together! We are never, ever, ever getting back together. We can try to be friends, you and me, but Jim, you see that we are never, ever, ever getting back together."_ Jim wasn't going to give up so easily this time.

_"We could escape and restart our lives. It's not too late. I could be your first mate forever, perfectly together. Tell me now, wouldn't that be sweet? Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up in the morning when the day is new? After having spent the day together, we'll hold each other close the whole night through.”_

_"Did you listen to a word I said?"_ Killian snapped, beginning to lose his patience.

Jim was insistent. _"The dream we had's not dead. Though we can't get married, your ship could carry us safe to brand new shores."_

Killian stopped listening and turned away. He was lost in his own private hell. _"I'm such a fool. Why'd I bring him?"_

 _"You don't have to be afraid!"_ Jim told him, trying to break through.

Killian walked further away across the stage. _"No controlling the song inside of Jim. We have to stop this curse!"_

 _"Think of all the plans we made!"_ Jim called out desperately.

 _"Jim, please stop! You'll only make things worse! Did someone hear? We're not safe here."_  Killian searched all around them for prying ears. Jim followed after him, never ceasing his uncontrollable avalanche of sentiment and longing. Where had he been holding all that?

 _"We'll be so happy together, enjoying the sunny weather,"_ Jim sang, growing even more frantic as Killian began panicking. _"By the sea, you and me, where it's nice and cozy. By the sea, there we'll be, where there's no one nosy. Warm sand on your feet and the sky above you. Killian, don’t you know I love you?”_

"SHUT UP!" Killian bellowed. That final note lasted several measures, long after the invisible instruments stopped.

The silence left Jim alone in Killian's sonic barrage. Jim fell to his knees. At some point during his long shout, the door opened at the back of the hall. Jim, dumbstruck by the rejection and the pure density of sound, still noticed before Killian did. It was Emma. Killian had forgotten something.

Killian gasped, recoiling when he saw her. Jim saw him make the switch from angry ex-lover to dutiful boyfriend. It was almost effortless. Did Jim pick up his duplicity skills from Killian, or was it the other way around?

The song was over. Jim needed his headphones. He looked for them, trying to think back through every thoughtless, unfiltered thing either of them said. Jim had proclaimed his undying love for Killian and Killian, too overwhelmed by the fear someone was listening, told him to shut up.

He caught a glance from Killian. One look told Jim that he was sorry for what he'd said. The curse had taken hold of both of them, making them act like a couple of fools. Still, it hurt.

Off went Killian to do damage control. Emma scribbled something on her pad. Jim squinted. It said "WTF?" She gestured to Jim. It took Jim a second to parse out the acronym. "Oh... what the fuck," he thought. Jim blanched. Here came the questions.

Jim couldn't do this anymore. He couldn't play the lying game. The curse wouldn't allow for it anyway. Jim started running. He ran out of the theatre. He ran down the street. He found himself instinctively running for the water. He needed to go someplace quiet, to go to his happy place. Maybe if he spent some time at the shore, he could center himself again.

His shoes hit the sand. He ripped them off and felt the sand between his toes. Jim rolled up his pant legs and waded ankle deep into the water. As he started walking along the shoreline, he spotted another person getting their feet wet. It was a young woman with long red hair.

Jim came over and said hello. She waved meekly, looking quite sad. Jim asked her name. The girl motioned to her throat. She couldn’t even speak, let alone sing. She showed him the hospital bracelet on her wrist.

Ariel. No last name. The mermaid? He made his hands into fins. She nodded. She was the mermaid who assaulted Eric and Ella with Gold’s knife. Against her own will, if he understood correctly. Jim didn't care so much about that as having an outlet for his angst. Then an idea occurred to him.

" _It doesn't matter what I say_ ,” Jim thought aloud. He smiled, having finally found a vault for all his secrets. “ _You can't tell them anyway. Your lips are sealed_.”

Ariel shrugged and nodded. She made a zipping gesture across her mouth. She sat down on the dry sand. Jim did the same.

They stared out at the water for a while before Jim sang, almost like a whisper, “ _I’m in love with Captain Hook. He's the one I came looking for. I have chased him for a hundred years. I’ll love him for a thousand more._ ”

He was waiting for some look of shock or disgust. Ariel just curled her finger to resemble a hook. Jim nodded. _“I can still recall our last summer. I still see it all. Walking on the beach, dreams within our reach, our last summer. He said he'd be back by fall. Now I when wake up, I still see his ghost. And now I'm just not sure what's to live for, no. Who do I live for? What do I live for? Most nights, I don't know anymore."_

Ariel wanted to know more. She made two men using her fingers for legs and brought them together. She wanted to know how they met. Ariel was urging Jim to let it all out.

 _"Do I remember how this song and dance began? Damn right, I can. You wanna know how I met Killian? We both crewed on a great big ship. We were headed out on a lengthy trip. He said, 'Hey, mate, you can bunk with me. I sure could use the company.' A few weeks pass, I'm in his bed, drunk off my ass. My legs are-"_ Jim covered his mouth.

This curse really did remove any filter a person had over their thoughts. Ariel giggled silently. Jim blushed beet red. He exhaled slowly and tried again. Jim looked away from Ariel and just stared the water. He sang everything out, every last little detail that had been aching to be heard.

_“Here by the ocean, on a day just like this, sometime in early June, before he set sail, he gave me a kiss and told me he’d be back soon. His smile filled me with joy. It hurt to let go of that beautiful boy who I used to know. I was happy to miss him, happy to stay, happily watching him sail away._

_”Patiently waiting all on my own under the endless sky, I counted the days as I stood there alone while year after year went by. I searched the kingdom. Oh, where could he be? When's he coming back? Is he lost out at sea? When I learned that he died, I cried day after day. Why did I let him just sail away?_

_”Here, I started turning pages. All of it was there, everything we shared, every last thing about me. I wondered for ages, why he wasn’t there. Why was he not there? It's because he never even cared as he carried on without me._

_”I finally found him. I finally learned just how the story ends. He wasn’t dead. Now he loves someone else and lives here with all his new friends. Isn’t that lovely? It’s that cruel? Isn’t he lucky and aren’t I fool? Now I’m happily silent, won’t get in his way, happy to watch as he sails away.”_

When Jim finished his soliloquy, Ariel applauded. She tried to indicate with her hands that Jim had a beautiful voice. It was not quite the reaction he expected. She must have realized her response was inappropriate, judging by how she fidgeted and starting playing with her hair.

 _”Please don’t tell anybody what was in my song. It all seems so silly now that it’s done. I hope you don’t mind. You really don't mind that I just said those words?”_ Jim sang softly. Ariel shook her head. _"How wonderful life is now you're in the world."_

Ariel smiled sadly. She drew a heart in the sand with her finger. Jim watched as she etched a line like a crack down the middle. Ariel drew an arrow toward Jim, then another toward herself. Two broken hearts. Ariel might be the only person in town to really understand him.

" _Do you believe in life after love?"_ sang Jim. _"I could feel something inside me break. I really don’t think I’m strong enough.”_

Ariel nodded. She pointed to the water. She smiled like it made her happy and pretended to swim. A man in a hospital uniform came to get her. Jim asked what Ariel was doing out of the hospital. The nurse said that it was therapy. Ariel was in pain. The seawater helped. Jim understood that on a deep level.

He bid them goodbye. Like it or not, he needed to face Emma, Killian, and whatever bullshit explanation Killian came up with for their fight. Onward he went back to the police station, the weight on his shoulders feeling a bit lighter.

When he returned, Jim looked through the windows. Happy was gone. They only people left were Emma and David in the back. If Killian wasn't with them, that was probably a bad sign. Still, with David around, Emma probably wouldn't make a scene. Jim carefully walked in.

From what he could tell, their investigation at the circus turned up nothing. David was pacing like a maniac, wringing his hands. Emma stared blankly at her notes. After a long sigh, David removed his headphones. He had something important to say. Emma took hers off to listen.

" _If your mother were here, she would know what to do. She would say 'don't lose heart' and then we'd all muddle through. She'd inspire and lead, keep our spirits up with cheer. I'd be hopeful if your mother were here."_

Unbeknownst to Jim and David, Snow had sung something very similar early that morning by David's side at the hospital. _"If your father were here, he would fight the good fight. He would take up his sword and then he'd banish the night. He would battle the darkness till there's nothing left to fear. I'd be braver if your father were here."_

Then, strangely, David sang the exact same words Snow had sung sitting on his bed. Maybe he'd heard her. " _If wishes were horses, we could gallop away. If curses were clocks, then I would know the time all day. All we can offer is the hope within our heart. We are so strong together and so lost when we're apart."_

 _"If your mother were here, she would help me be bold,"_ sang David.

 _"How I wish he could offer me his hand just to hold,"_ Snow sung.

Together, at different times, they sang to Emma, _"We missed watching you grow inch by inch and year by year..."_

There was a pause, an unfinished thought. _"I would thank her if your mother were here,"_ sang David, eyes glassy.

Emma stood up and embraced her father. They hugged for what felt like forever. Emma told him how grateful she was for them, and how deeply she wished to have what Snow and David had. Jim was beginning to feel awkward, waiting for their father-daughter moment to be over.

Emma released him. David began walking out the door into the lobby. He saw Jim waiting around. Jim waved and forced an unconvincing smile. _"You heard?"_ asked David.

 _"Every word."_ Jim was going to say something, anything to make David feel better, but David held up his hand.

 _"Keep your pity. Please, no jests. All these curses we can't undo, distant fathers we never knew, all these quests. I don’t know what all this fighting’s even for. Please, no more."_ But there was more. There was a lot more, a lot David didn't want to say in front of Emma. David didn't need to be strong in front of Jim though.

_"No more villains waging war. Can't we just pursue our lives with our children and our wives? Till that happy day arrives, how can we ignore all the witches and the curses, all the secrets and lies, the false hopes, the goodbyes, the reverses? All the wondering what even worse is still in store? Just... no more."_

David, hollow on the inside, passed by Jim out the door. He seemed embarrassed to make eye contact. Jim felt for him, he really did. He looked over at Emma, tapping her pencil, agitated still. He knew her life wasn't perfect, but it sure must be nice to have a father who actually gave a shit. And a mom who lived to see you hit thirty.

Jim decided to hurry outside before he was forced to be alone with Emma, but then he heard the tinkle of a piano. Outside, David fired up his truck and drove away. Emma, alone, closed her notepad and set it aside. She was going to sing.

He shouldn't listen. He should just go. Still, as music trickled in from the ether, Jim wanted to know who Emma really was. He wanted to know the woman who had taken Killian so far away. He sat outside by the door, which he kept ajar.

 _"Nothing is so good it lasts eternally,"_ Emma mused, conflicted. _"Perfect situations can go wrong, but this has never yet prevented me from wanting far too much for far too long. Looking back, I could have done things differently, taken greater care before I fell. It took me time to understand the man. Now at least I thought I knew him well."_

Of course, it was about Killian. God forbid, she sing about her parents or literally anything else. Jim was such a hypocrite though. Before he knew it, Jim was caught up in Emma's song. He tried to be quiet, framing his mouth so sound would only go toward the street.

_"No one in your life is with you constantly. No one is completely on your side, and though I traveled far to be with him, still the gap between us is so wide. Looking back I could have played it differently, guarded my poor heart against his spell. I was ever so much younger then. Now at least I know I know him well."_

Emma sighed. She pulled up a picture of her and Killian together on her phone. " _I looked into those angel eyes. One look, I was hypnotized. He took my heart and now I pay the price."_  It seemed like Emma was having serious doubts about their relationship. Maybe that was a good thing.

 _"Look into his angel eyes,"_ Jim returned, praying Emma couldn't hear him. " _You think you're in paradise, then you find out he wears a disguise. Don't look too deep into those angel eyes."_ Emma loved him so much, though. She got an "I love you". Jim got "shut up". Emma didn't know how good she had it. They weren't having problems until Jim came along.

Jim got up and walked around the corner to the parking lot. He tried balancing on the curb. _"Sometimes when I'm lonely I sit and think about him. It hurts to remember all the good times when I thought I could never live without him and I wonder, does he ever feel the same? Every time that I see him, will it bring back all the pain, all the heartache, and the shame?"_

Unbeknownst to each other, together they sang, _"Didn't I know how this would go from the start? If I knew, why am I falling apart?"_

 _"His eyes..."_ Jim sang wistfully. He never could say no to them.

 _"I know their every look,"_ said Emma, like an echo. She couldn't say no either.

 _"His eyes..."_  Jim repeated, picturing them in his mind.

 _"They’re like an open book,"_ Emma sang, shutting her own eyes to imagine them as well.

 _"His eyes!"_ Jim belted in anguish, foregoing any attempt to be quiet.

 _"I can't believe the way Hook hypnotized me!"_ Emma stood up. They were both such suckers. _"If I’m wise, I would walk away and gladly, but, sadly, I’m not wise."_

Jim understood her pain. He could sense her song permeating the station's thick, brick walls. _"It’s hard to talk away the memories that you prize."_

They both contemplated whether or not Killian was worth all this aggravation. Yes. He was. _"Love is worth forgiving for. Now, I realize everything worth living for is there in his eyes!"_ They took a breath, having second thoughts. Still uncertain, they sang, _"It took time to understand him. I know him so well."_

Jim needed to get out of there before anything worse happened. All he learned was that Emma was torturing herself over Killian's nonsense just like Jim. That only made him more upset for some reason. For the time being, Jim would have to settle for a walk in the park to clear his head. Once David was back, then they could proceed with the investigation. Everyone knew to keep their mouths shut when he was around.

Meanwhile, Killian was also having an exceedingly terrible day. The only reason he escaped a colossal fight with Emma is because she refused to do it via notepad. She was off fuming in the station, which meant Killian was in interminable exile.

He was such an idiot. He should never have taken those headphones off. He should never have let Jim sing to him. He never should have danced with him. Killian felt a pain in his gut. He also never should have told Jim to shut up.

"I really am a bastard," he thought to himself. "What am I going to do now?"

_"I don’t know how to take this. Don’t know where to go. My resolve is running low. Every day, the end is drawing nearer and it troubles me so. I’m nobody’s fool and yet it’s clear to me. I don’t have a strategy. Once again, my past has come to haunt me and I think I must be under attack. I’m taking cover. They're on my track, my long-lost lover and the secrets left in our youth. Do I keep them inside? Do I tell her the truth?”_

He rounded a corner and there was Jim. They both startled upon seeing each other. Having endured both Killian's rejection and a session of synchronized self-flagellation with Emma, Jim had some words for him. And they were not going to wait.

_"I can't believe what you said to me last time we were alone. You threw your hands up, told me to shut up. No, you shut up! I can't believe you could look at me with those dreamy, star-filled eyes, and then act like you don't care and tell her more of your lies. I know that it's complicated, but I'm a loser in love. So baby, when do you plan to mend my broken heart and start being my friend?"_

Killian wasn't going to answer that question. He might want to make things right with Jim. Jim knew he meant what he said, but he wouldn't budge an inch if it meant jeopardizing his relationship with Emma. Jim was never going to come first, never again.

_“So you found a place where the grass is greener and you jumped the fence to the other side. Is it good? Is she giving you a life I could never provide?"_

Killian tried to move around Jim, to escape, but Jim got right back in his face. _"Well, I hope you're proud of the way you left me. Yeah, I hope this is all that you want and more. Now you're free from the agonizing life you were living before."_

Killian tried to hush him but Jim wasn't having it. _"So I’ll say what I have to say so that you get to have your way. It would kill you to have to stay trapped when you've got something new. Well, I know that we had it rough but I thought that I’d be enough. Thank God she rescued you!_

_“So you got what you always wanted. So you got your dream come true. Good for you. Good for you, you, you! Got a taste of a life so perfect. Guess you did what you had to do. Good for you. Good for you!"_

Emma found them using her phone, just as Jim finished singing. She only heard the last few words, but it was enough to set her off. She looked at Killian, but pointed to Jim.  _"Do you understand why it’s hard to trust you? Do you even care how that makes me feel? Is that fun? Do you get a little kick when I don’t know what’s real?"_

Hook turned away and whispered to himself, barely in control, _"I know I ought to tell her, hate to be untrue. Every day, she turns the screw. I hardly dare to think of what would happen, where I’d be if she knew. Disappear, I'd like to try. Can’t hide away into some other lie. Long enough for them to just quit. Long enough for me to get out of it."_

He looked at Jim, who was smiling smugly. He was enjoying this. _"And you say what you need to say and you play who you need to play. If there's somebody in your way, crush them and leave them behind! Well I guess if I'm not of use, go ahead. You can cut me loose. Go ahead now, I won't mind! I'll shut my mouth and I'll leave you be. Is that good for you? Would that be good for you, you, you?"_

Emma got in on it too. _"I'll just ignore what you keep from me. Is that good for you? Would that be good for you, you, you?"_

Hook ran farther away from them, covering his ears. " _All I need is some time to think, but this ship is about to sink. Can't erase what’s been wrote in ink. Tell me how can I change this story? All the things that I can't take back. All the baggage I can’t unpack. Now my mind is about to crack. I've got to find a way to stop this now! I’m under attack! Red sky at morning. They’re on my track. I’m taking warning. Won't somebody please have a heart? Come and rescue me now ‘cause I’m falling apart."_

He willed his emotions so deep down that they spread to the patrons in the park. Parents and children all stood and sang what he thought, _"Yeah, you're fucked all right and all for spite. You can kiss your sorry ass goodbye. Totally fucked! Will they mess you up? Well, you know they're gonna try."_

Jim and Emma, not paying attention to anyone but themselves, charged at him. _”You were everything, everything that I wanted. We were meant to be, supposed to be but we lost it. How could memories so close to me just fade away? All this time, you were pretending. So much for my happy ending!"_  Emma and Jim shouted at the same time. " _So you got what you always wanted!"_

They looked at each other. They'd been singing in unison, feeling the same sense of betrayal and rage. Jim acted like her energy had compelled him to sing along, but there were words in there that were only his. If Emma was smart, and Jim knew that she was, she might finally start putting the pieces together. She didn't though. She just handed Killian a note and stormed off.

Killian glanced at Jim like he was expecting a shred of sympathy. Not this time. Slowly, Jim sang, _"I'll never talk again. Is that good for you? I'll never love again. All my life, I followed you, but you can't even follow through. Why you so speechless?"_

Jim left the same way Emma did, leaving Killian in the park, shaken and alone.

The investigation, as far as Jim was concerned, was over. They could call him if they really needed help. Jim was going back to Granny's to get some much needed lunch, or maybe to The Rabbit Hole for a much deserved drink. Halfway up Main Street, Jim heard someone clear their throat.

It was Jefferson. He hushed him and silently motioned for Jim to follow him into the alley. Jim wouldn't lie. He kind of liked where this was going. Maybe Jefferson wasn't mad. Whatever was going on, he looked glad to see him. Jim was about to whisper a hello when Jim was engulfed in smoke.

When it cleared, he was back at the carnival. It was still in operation. The sudden musicality of the world only heightened the fun. He turned and there was the Queen, smiling nicely at him among the oblivious fair attendants. This was it. Jim was going to die.

"Hello, Mr. Hawkins," she said. "How are you on this lovely day we're having?"

"You're talking!" Jim gasped. "I'm talking. How? What did you do?"

The Queen chuckled. "I lifted the spell on us for a bit. I thought a little free verse might make our discussion a bit easier."

"Why were you singing yesterday?" Jim asked, deeply confused.

The Queen just smiled playfully and said, "It's fun." She motioned for him to follow her in the direction of the main tent.

Jim reluctantly followed her. Maybe he'd learn something useful. Or maybe he really was about to die. Either way, it would be a huge burden off his chest. "And what exactly did you want to discuss?"

"Assistance," she said cryptically. "I recently came into possession of a certain book that told me a very interesting story."

Jim rolled his eyes. "Let me guess. _Treasure Island?_ "

A large leather-bound book materialized in the Queen's hands. "No, I prefer the unabridged version." She opened up to a page with an illustration of seventeen-year-old Jim waiting by the dock in Porthaven. Jim instantly knew what this was.

"The Storybook," he said, almost reverently.

"One of many," said the Queen, flipping through the pages. "I'm guessing you know the deal. Every story recorded in these books is one-hundred percent true, or they will be."

Jim was afraid that he knew exactly where she was going. "And you expect mine to play itself out like Erik's or Ariel’s?"

"No, your story's already done," she said, flipping to the part where Killian Jones was proclaimed dead. "The ending’s kind of a bummer. I want to help you fix it."

Jim looked at her warily, somewhat relieved. "What do you mean?"

The Queen cut to the chase. "There's a certain magical artifact that I need you to get for me. I lost my two best thieves, so I'm needing to outsource. The task is simple. Bring me the wand of the Blue Fairy."

Jim stepped away from her. "Get it yourself!" he snapped at her. “I saw what happened to the last guy you tricked into helping you. Do you have any idea what you did to Jefferson?”

"No, and I don’t care. I would get the wand myself, but it's being protected against dark magic," she explained. "I need someone who can slip through the defenses, someone more... morally gray."

"Why should I help you?" Jim asked. "You're obviously going to use it to hurt people. You cursed Snow and David. You're working with Hyde! You've got everyone in town singing. Why the hell would I want to help you?"

He and the Queen stopped in front of the Phantasmagorium's entrance. She shut the book. It disappeared into smoke. "Because I'm the only one who knows what you really want and I'm the only one who can help you get it." Jim was intrigued, but extremely hesitant. "Come inside. I'll explain."

Against all good sense, Jim followed her into the shadows of the tent. When he reached the dim light of the darkened ring, he was all alone. The Queen had disappeared. Then he heard the Queen’s ghostly voice sing softly in his ear.

“ _Open up your mind and let me step inside. Rest your weary head and let your heart decide. This is your life. Don’t play hard to get. It’s a cruel, cruel world and all you ever did was fall in love. It’s a shame, but if you wanna play my game, you’ll get your love."_  

Jim wasn't sure what she was getting at. Then he saw her descend from the ceiling on a swing, dressed in a sparkling ringmaster's costume. She sang to him from above.

_“We both wanted love but lost it all in the end. We shouldn’t be fighting. Jim, let me be your friend. This is your life. Live it how you want. It’s a free, free world and all you ever wanted was his love. Play my game. If you wanna play the game, you’ll win your love.”_

_“Come and get your love,”_ sang a ghostly chorus. Jim turned around. Erik’s circus performers appeared out of thin air and began encircling him. They were completely under the Queen's spell, repeating, “ _Come and get your love. Come and get your love. Come and get your love.”_

The chanting crowd parted for the Queen, who sang to Jim sweetly. “ _Everybody’s got the right to be happy. Don’t be sad. Life’s not as bad as it seems. If you keep your goal in sight, you can climb to any height. Everybody’s got the right to their dreams.”_

The crowd joined her, even the freaks from the side show. _“Everybody’s got the right to be different, even if at times they go to extremes. Anybody can prevail. Everybody’s free to fail. No one can be put in jail for their dreams.”_

The Queen surprised Jim from behind and put her arm around him. _“Think about your life, Jimmy. Think about those distant shores, you and Hook together. It all can be yours, when the guardians of the darkness pour forth from heaven’s doors. Jimmy, think about your love.”_

Jim resented being called “Jimmy." Not even Killian was allowed to call him that. Only his mother could call him that. And what about "guardians of darkness"? This was bad.

_“Think about your dreams, Jimmy. Think about your journeys planned. Think about the moment that’s so close at hand, when the power of the darkness is here at my command! Jimmy, think about your love.”_

All eyes were on Jim. Apparently, it was his turn to sing.

 _“I don’t know,”_ sang Jim, uncertainly. _“I don’t know! I have so, so much cause to be wary. Should I go steal the wand from the fairy?”_

The Queen was beginning to get impatient. On her cue, the music picked up. The bass pounded. The dancers stomped their feet in time.

 _“How about a fancy new boat? A brand new, hand-sewn crocodile coat? A castle with your very own moat? You’re gonna get it.”_ Jim wasn’t impressed by the offer. _“What about a mountain of gold? You like gold or so I’m told. Want more treasure? Then get in the fold. You’re gonna get it,”_ sang the Queen, waiting for Jim’s reply.

 _“Get it. Get it. Get it. Get it. Get it. Get it. Get it. Get it!”_ screamed the chorus, shaking and doing body rolls. The seductive glances the women sent him weren't doing a thing for him.

The Queen quickly gave up that tactic. “ _You_ _don’t care about expensive things, cashmere coats, diamond rings. No, no, not you. All you care about is love. That’s what you came for. All you care about is Captain Hook. Fine. Let me rewrite your book. That's what I'll do. Let me help you get your love.”_

The Queen presented Jim with a new book. The illustration showed Killian and Jim as adults sailing off into the sunset. It was beautiful, everything Jim ever wanted. It was too good to be true. He threw the book away and it dissolved into ash.

 _“Look, you can join the team or you can bitch and moan. You can live your dream or you can die alone. You can win Hook back or if you prefer, keep on testing me and end up like her!”_ The Queen pointed to a far corner.

Everyone pointed in the same direction to a woman dangling inside of a cage. They swished their hips in unison as Jim squinted to see her face. It was Trilby. The Queen was holding Trilby hostage. Whatever Erik had done, he was being forced.

Not to be upstaged by her own prisoner, the Queen shrouded her with curtains and brought the spotlight back to her. _“So, what are you waiting for? Kid, you’re in my candy store! Get the fairy’s wand for me. You’ll have it all and more.”_ Suddenly the dancers were fanning themselves with enormous lollipops.

 _“Everybody’s got the right to some sunshine!”_ Timpani were pounding. Horns were blaring. _“If not the sun, then maybe one of its beams!”_ The acrobats were forming a human tower. Dancers were synchronized swimming in mid-air. _“Rich man, poor man, black or white, pick your apple. Take a bite. Everybody’s got to fight for their dreams! Everybody’s got the right to their dreams.”_

The action slowed as a shower of sparks fell over them. The dancers grabbed Jim and set him on the swing. Before he could jump off, he was hoisted up into the air and suspended above the crowd. Across from him sat the Queen on a different swing, kicking her legs back and forth like a child.

 _“Jimmy, oh Jimmy, now you know just what you have to do,"_ sang the Queen. _"We’ve coaxed you, implored you. I hope we haven’t bored you. Now, Jimmy, what say you?”_

The spotlight was blinding him. Everyone was silent, waiting for his response.

 _“All I wanted was a ship, a distant shore, the pull of the tide. But the thing I wanted even more was him by my side. We came so close, my love. We nearly came near. It couldn’t be there. How could it be here?”_ Jim couldn't win Killian back with magic. It wouldn't be right.

As enticing as it was, Jim knew his answer. “ _Let me go! I’m no fool. You’re a bitch. You are cruel. You’ll go back on your word, this I know. You need help I can’t provide, so go back to Mr. Hyde. It’s getting late, so get this straight. I say no!”_

Jim jumped down from the swing and was caught by the strongman. He was in control of the song now. _“Blame your mother. Blame Snow White. Blame the music of the night. But hurting people, that’s your choice, my friend. But I believe that we will win. Your hate will earn you nothing in the end. This is the end!”_

The Queen wasn’t even listening. She was in her own world now, drunk on the music and her own delusion, sitting atop a tower of live animals. “ _You’ll get the good times back, if you can rise above. This town is going to burn but you can earn your one true love. If you do just this one thing for me, then your life is back on track and headed for good times. Go back to the good times. Remember those good times? They’re coming back!”_

Someone grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the circus. The Queen didn’t notice, more concerned with finishing her big number than luring Jim to the dark side. They ducked into a nearby wagon. It was Erik’s secret dressing room. Jim shut the door then got a good look at his savior.

He looked down and saw Quasimodo, giving him a shy but friendly wave. "Hi, it's Jim, right?" Quasi whispered timidly. He was speaking, just like the Queen had been earlier. With a swell of brass horns, the curtain dropped behind them, shielding them from prying eyes. The overhead lights crackled on. It looked like Jim was finally going to get an intermission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs used:
> 
> An Anniversary Duet  
> \- “Come What May” from ‘Moulin Rouge’  
> \- “Without You” from ‘Rent’
> 
> Panic in the Hospital  
> \- "What's the Buzz?" from 'Jesus Christ Superstar'  
> \- “A Kind of Magic” by Queen  
> \- "What's Up?" by 4 Non-Blondes  
> \- "Me Against the Music" by Britney Spears  
> \- "Don't Stop the Music" by Rihanna  
> \- "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen  
> \- "No Control" by David Bowie
> 
> Emma and Hook's Duet  
> \- "The Only Exception" by Paramour  
> \- "Just Give Me a Reason" by P!nk  
> \- "The Reason" by Hoobastank  
> \- "Don't Ever Stop Saying I Love You" from 'A Catered Affair'  
> \- "A Heart Full of Love" from 'Les Miserables'
> 
> The Long Walk Home  
> \- “The Sound of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkel  
> \- “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day  
> \- "Mad World" by Tears for Fears  
> \- "On My Own" from 'Les Miserables'  
> \- "Out Here on My Own" from 'Fame'
> 
> Jim's Dream  
> \- "Perfect" by Simple Plan  
> \- "Proud of Your Boy" from 'Aladdin'  
> \- "Teenage Dirtbag" by Wheatus  
> \- "Sailing" by Christopher Cross  
> \- "Island in the Sun" by Weezer  
> \- “Holiday” by Green Day  
> \- "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None the Richer  
> \- "On This Night of a Thousand Stars" from 'Evita'  
> \- "Ten Minutes Ago" from 'Cinderella'  
> \- "Wouldn't It Be Nice?" by The Beach Boys  
> \- "Dirty Little Secret" by The All-American Rejects  
> \- "People Will Say We're in Love" from 'Oklahoma!'  
> \- “In the Navy” by The Village People  
> \- “The Future’s So Bright” by Timbuk 3  
> \- “Take It on the Run” by REO Speedwagon  
> \- “One Hand, One Heart” from ‘West Side Story’  
> \- “You Belong to Me” by Jason Wade  
> \- “I Know It’s Today” from ‘Shrek: The Musical’  
> \- “I’ve Been Waiting for You” by ABBA  
> \- “I Hate You” from ‘If/Then’  
> \- “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd” / “Epiphany” from ‘Sweeney Todd’
> 
> “Good Morning, Storybrooke”  
> \- “Belle” from ‘Beauty and the Beast’  
> \- “Good Morning, Baltimore” from ‘Hairspray’  
> \- “Good Morning, Good Day” from ‘She Loves Me’  
> \- “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” from ‘Oklahoma’  
> \- “Skid Row” from ‘Little Shop of Horrors’  
> \- “Just Another Day” from ‘Next to Normal’  
> \- “Bikini Bottom Day” from ‘SpongeBob Squarepants: The Musical”  
> \- "Everything's All Right" from 'Jesus Christ Superstar'
> 
> Theatre Love Medley  
> \- “Drumming Song” by Florence and the Machine  
> \- “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele  
> \- “Don’t Speak” by No Doubt  
> \- “Counting Stars” by One Republic  
> \- “Bottle It Up” by Sara Bareilles  
> \- “Little Talks” by Of Monsters and Men  
> \- “Wake Me Up” by Avicii  
> \- “If I Could Turn Back Time” by Cher  
> \- “Million Reasons” by Lady Gaga  
> \- “Always on My Mind” by Willy Nelson  
> \- “Everywhere” by Michelle Branch  
> \- “All I Do Is Dream of You” from ‘Singing in the Rain’  
> \- “Valerie” by The Zutons  
> \- “I Dreamed a Dance” from ‘Next to Normal’  
> \- “Sway” by Frank Sinatra  
> \- “Don’t Feel Like Dancing” by Scissor Sisters  
> \- “Shut Up and Dance” by Walk the Moon  
> \- “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” by Celine Dion  
> \- “We Are Never Getting Back Together” by Taylor Swift  
> \- “The Sweet Escape” by No Doubt  
> \- “The First Time in Forever” from ‘Frozen’  
> \- “By the Sea” from ‘Sweeney Todd’
> 
> The Beach  
> \- "Our Lips Are Sealed" by The Go-Gos  
> \- "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri  
> \- “Our Last Summer” by ABBA  
> \- “Some Nights” by fun.  
> \- "Charity's Soliloquy" from 'Sweet Charity'  
> \- "Drift Away" from 'Steven Universe: The Movie'  
> \- "Your Song" by Elton John  
> \- "Believe" by Cher
> 
> David’s Lament  
> \- “If Your Mother Were Here” from ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’  
> \- “No More” from ‘Into the Woods’
> 
> Emma and Jim Are Sad  
> \- "I Know Him So Well" from 'Chess'  
> \- "Angel Eyes" by ABBA  
> \- "In His Eyes" from 'Jekyll & Hyde'
> 
> Emma and Jim Are Mad  
> \- "Under Attack" by ABBA  
> \- “Speechless” by Lady Gaga  
> \- "Good for You" from 'Dear Evan Hansen'  
> \- “Totally Fucked” from ‘Spring Awakening’  
> \- “My Happy Ending” by Avril Lavigne 
> 
> The Queen’s Temptation  
> \- “Play the Game” by Queen  
> \- “Come and Get Your Love” by Redbone  
> \- “Everybody’s Got the Right” from 'Assassins'  
> \- “Finale” from 'Pippin'  
> \- “Feed Me” from 'Little Shop of Horrors'  
> \- “All I Care About Is Love” from 'Chicago'  
> \- “Candy Store” from 'Heathers'  
> \- “Jimmy” from 'Thoroughly Modern Millie'  
> \- “I Say No” from 'Heathers'  
> \- “I Want the Good Times Back” from 'The Little Mermaid'


	16. The Music of the Night (Act II)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second half of the musical chapter! Jim learns a lot of new things - the whereabouts of Erik, how the Queen has coerced him, what the Queen is after... how Killian and Jim might have a future after all. The Phantom's musical spell is continuing to throw Jim's emotions every which way and keep him from filtering any of his thoughts.
> 
> CONTENT WARNING: This chapter depicts a character contemplating suicide. The character lives and is not physically harmed, but I thought I should mention it anyway because the topic itself can be upsetting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly didn’t think these two chapters would take so long. I’m so relieved they’re done. I might go back and make some tweaks. The story won't be altered, but some song lyrics may be added or changed.

Jim collapsed onto the stool in front of La Svengali's mirror. He took several deep, cleansing breaths. Quasi waited patiently for Jim to collect himself after his run-in with the Queen.

"Thanks for saving my ass back there," Jim said. "She has got a serious screw loose. I swore to God she was gonna kill me." He paused, taken aback by his sudden speech. "I'm talking again. Why am I talking?"

Quasimodo patted the walls of the room around them. "Erik has this wagon completely sound-proofed," Quasi explained. "It's for private rehearsals. It's also so no one can use his tricks against him while he's inside. He's really brilliant, isn't he?"

"Very," Jim said sarcastically, rubbing his temples. Now that he'd been temporarily cut off from the opera unfolding outside, he was beginning to develop a serious headache. It was like music withdrawal.

"Of course, Erik's hypnotism doesn't really work on me anyway," Quasi continued. “I’m a little bit deaf actually. Years of ringing church bells will do that to a guy.”

As fascinating as that was, Jim realized he had a golden opportunity to end all this nonsense. “Do you know how to stop all this?” Jim asked urgently. "The curse, I mean. We need to get into the Sorcerer’s Mansion to stop Hyde, but the music’s getting in the way."

Quasimodo shook his head. “Erik would know though,” he suggested. Having said that, he started fidgeting nervously.

”Do you know where he is?” Jim begged. This could be their only hope. "Maybe we can convince him to undo it himself."

Quasimodo started fiddling with his fingers, looking around the room. “I think I found him, but I don't know if he’d want me to say...” 

“Please, just tell me! We need to end this. Think about Esmeralda!” Jim urged him, remembering what he read from Quasi’s book at Jefferson’s. "The Queen has her under her control, everyone in the circus except for you. All she has to do is sing and they're hers."

”All right! All right! I get it!” Quasimodo said, torn. He bit his lip as he struggled with what to do. “He’s back in the church. I heard him playing, but I didn't go in. Why did he do this?”

Jim knew. He saw it first hand. “The Queen kidnapped Trilby. She’s keeping her in a cage inside the Phantasmagorium,” Jim told him. Quasi gasped. "Do you think you can get her out of there?"

Quasimodo groaned, overwhelmed with anxiety. “I can try, but the Queen will kill me for sure. I don't know if I can do it alone.” He was just one small man against the Queen and an army of bewitched carnies.

Jim thought for a moment and strategized. He gave Quasimodo a very important mission. "Go to the Sheriff's Department and tell them everything, where to find Erik, where the Queen is keeping Trilby, and remember to tell them that the Queen’s looking for the Blue Fairy's wand."

”Who?” asked Quasi, looking over Jim’s shoulder as he began to write.

”I don’t know, but they must be important if the Queen needs their wand that badly,” Jim said, making Quasimodo some notes. He seemed like the forgetful type. Before Jim handed him the paper, he had a thought. "Quasi, can I ask you a question? It's about Esmeralda."

"I guess," said Quasimodo, a little unsure.

Jim tried to be delicate. "I read your book. Well, I didn't so much read it as skim it, but I know that you love her. And I know she doesn't feel the same way about you. I may have found myself in a similar situation and I don't know how to deal with loving someone who doesn't love me back. What do you do? How do you get through it?"

Quasimodo thought that over. Jim guessed that he wasn't the person people usually turn to for advice. "Sometimes loving someone means letting them be happy, even if that means you're not. It's being happy that they're happy, even if they're not with you." There was a certain melancholy tone to his voice.

Jim regretted bringing up the topic. "Thank you. That's... that's wise," Jim said, honestly frustrated by the answer. It was not what he was hoping for.

He gave Quasi the information about the Queen on the scrap of paper, as well as his map for directions. It’s not like Jim needed it anymore. They turned off the lights. Quasi lifted up the curtain. Jim felt the curse wash over him again the second he opened the door.

Quasi hurried away before anyone saw him. On his way out, Jim spied something out of the corner of his eye. Hanging from a hook was the Phantom's magic mask. Quasi must have found it somewhere. Jim took it. He imagined he'd want it back.

First things first, Jim needed to talk to Nadir. On matters involving Erik Svengali, he was the expert. Jim found him predictably at Granny's, quietly eating his lunch amidst the musical chaos. Jim showed him the mask to illustrate the severity of the situation.

"So I see you’ve all fallen victim to Svengali’s curse,” said Nadir, almost a bit judgmental. He, like Quasimodo, had no trouble talking like a normal human being while the rest of them sang their little hearts out.

Jim grabbed a child's paper place mat and a crayon and scribbled, ”What makes you so special?” He showed the paper to Nadir with a scowl.

Nadir took a sip of water. “I seem to have developed an immunity to his tricks over the years. Darius, however...” Nadir gestured behind Jim toward the back of the restaurant.

Darius was serenading Ruby in front of the jukebox while she did her best not to laugh. Jim cracked up. He was getting secondhand embarrassment just from watching.

_"I know a girl and Ruby is her name. She won't love me but I love her just the same. Ruby, Ruby, how I want you. Like a ghost, I'm gonna haunt you. Ruby, Ruby, when will you be mine?"_

Darius sang with reckless abandon. Ruby had to sit him down and explain to him that she was just too old for him. Darius had another song in anticipation of that. Jim couldn't bear to watch anymore.

Nadir moved on from Darius. “Despite all this, I've never seen Svengali pull off something quite this... elaborate. Magic isn't his strong point. He must have gotten some outside assistance to make _this_ happen." He gestured back to Darius who was making a damned fool out of himself.

"He's being forced," Jim wrote in crayon.

"Obviously. Do you see him acting this way normally?" said Nadir, missing the point. Darius had started dancing. People were even clapping to the beat.

Jim crossed that out and scribbled something else down."SVENGALI is being forced."

After parsing out Jim’s chicken scratch, that gave Nadir some pause. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"The Queen has Trilby," Jim wrote hastily. He added, "in the circus."

"It would seem you're out of luck then," Nadir said, dabbing at his mouth. "Svengali would let this town burn to the ground before he let anything happen to Miss O'Farrell. He nearly blew up the whole Palais Garnier for the last silly soprano that caught his eye."

Jim didn't speak French, but it sounded like a grisly picture. Still, maybe Jim could use that to his advantage. If they could rescue Trilby from the Queen, maybe Erik would be willing to break the spell. But if Nadir's assessment was correct, Erik might not be able to do it on his own.

”Aren’t you going to do something?” Jim wrote. “He’s your ‘friend.’”

“Pardon me if I don’t trust a person who is singing and dancing uncontrollably to drive me to him safely. I’m still too weak to walk long distances alone,” Nadir said, recalling the vampire assault. “I’m not fully recovered from the first time we captured him.”

Jim put the mask in his pocket and turned back to poor Darius. Ruby sighed and brought out the big guns. _"I hate to break it you. I'm already in love with a wonderful..."_ Here it comes. A woman like Ruby had to have a man in her life. "... _girl."_

Jim nearly choked on his drink. Was she serious? Ruby pointed to Dorothy in the kitchen. So Jim hadn't been imagining things. Darius was also dumbstruck, but that might have simply been because Ruby was off the market. Jim had so many questions for her. Forgetting Nadir, Jim got up and walked over to Ruby. He tried to approach the topic delicately. Everyone else had heard though. Did nobody really care?

Casually, Jim said, _"I didn't know that you were..._ _together."_

 _"How did you not know we're together?"_ asked Ruby. Seriously, where had Jim been?

Before Jim knew it, Ruby was trotting out Dorothy so they could tell him their whole blessed story. They weren't ashamed. Beyond that, they were delighted and their joy was infectious. Somewhere, Jim could hear fiddles and guitars start playing. They had a pleasant but unfamiliar twang.

Blushing just a bit, Ruby & Dorothy sat down across the bar from Jim. Ruby took the lead and sang, _"I knew there was something I lacked. I swore I heard a new wolf pack calling."_

 _"I heard the twister alarm. So I decided I'd leave that old gray farm for good,"_ sang Dorothy, holding Ruby's hand _. "Not a single tear was falling."_

They sang together, scarcely breaking eye contact. _"It took leaving home for us to understand, sometimes your dreams just aren't what life has planned."_ Dorothy continued on while Ruby got up to bus tables.

Dorothy sang to Jim, _"Now, Auntie Em, she was as grounded as an oak tree. Uncle Henry was as steady as the sun. You know I loved my folks but I kept staring down the road, just waiting for my one chance to run._

 _"Henry became a mean old mister when Aunt Em passed away. When they sent another twister, I knew that was the day."_ She stood up and spun in a circle like a tornado. _"I flew away like a bluebird. I blew in the wind like a seed. I found everything I thought I wanted, but still not everything that I need."_

_"Aunt Em said, 'Home is where the heart is' before I left that town. I made my way back to Emerald City and that's where my heart found exactly where I’m meant to be. It wasn't like I planned, just down the road from Munchkinland."_

Dorothy pointed to Ruby. Ruby smiled and handed her a broom. Dorothy got to sweeping in time with the music. The story was far from over. Jim wished she’d get to the point.

She continued, _"So I told all my dreams to the Scarecrow, all the sights I had still yet to see. I said, 'Friend, do you think I’ll ever get there?' Oh, but he just sat there smiling back at me. Then I talked to the Tin Man and the Lion about the yearning I held deep inside. 'Is there a brown-eyed girl in my future?' They said, 'Love won’t find you if you run and hide.'_

Ruby twirled Dorothy around. It was her turn to tell her side of the story. Jim was fascinated. He'd never heard another couple like him and Killian talk so frankly about their love. It was surreal and wonderful. It made Jim wonder exactly what Killian was afraid of.

_"Granny said, 'Home is where the heart is' when I sensed our kind. I followed all the way to Emerald City because I had to find exactly where I'm meant to be. It wasn't like I planned, just down the road from Munchkinland."_

She continued as she stacked menus on the newly clean countertop. _"I was working here at Granny's diner, when a twister took me far away to that magic land so far over the rainbow."_

Dorothy cut in again. She couldn't help herself. _"That's when I saw the brightest pair of deep brown eyes walk straight into my life,"_ Dorothy sang, affectionately pinching Ruby's cheek.

Ruby blushed and took her hand. _"And then we laughed and talked till it became so clear,"_ she sang.

Dorothy spun her around this time. They sang together, totally forgetting about Jim, _"And I could feel those dreams inside shifting gear, ‘cause love brought us here! Nothing else mattered, nothing left of yesterday. When I met you, darling, I was just blown away!"_

The music died down. Ruby and Dorothy stopped dancing. Ruby just took Dorothy's hands in hers and held them. She looked ready to cry. _"Before I met you, I didn't think I'd get a second chance,"_ sang Ruby. _"But when I saw you, that's when my heart began to dance!"_ They looked deep into each other's eyes again. For a moment, no one else was in the room.

Jim caught Granny looking at them from the kitchen door. She looked so happy to see Ruby so happy. She dabbed at the corner of her eye. Granny sang softly, coming out to meet them.

_"I told her, 'Home is where the heart is' when she went away. 'You've gotta find your place in this world before you're old and gray.' There's no more I could have wished you than to wish you'd find your love and know how how happy you are today."  
_

Granny wrapped both Ruby and Dorothy into a big hug. Suddenly, Jim felt like he was intruding on a special family moment. It was beautiful though. To see Ruby's grandmother blessing their relationship, it was beyond what Jim could process. Granny released them and told them to get back to work. Ruby and Dorothy giggled to each other before returning to their stations. They intertwined their pinky fingers.

They sang sweetly as the music faded. _"Someone to take my hand was just down the road from Munchkinland."_

Then they gave each other a quick, sweet kiss in front of God and everyone. It was the most fearless thing he'd ever seen a person do, and they treated it like it was nothing. This is what Jim had been missing, what he and Killian used to have, only without all the secrets and shame.

He was bowled over again by the applause from the diner's patrons. They'd been listening to the entire song, genuinely moved. No one was upset. No one was disgusted. Two women expressing their love, even kissing was completely normal to them. Jim wanted to cry.

If this was all right, what had Killian been worried about all this time? Did he not know? Jim's heart swelled. He didn't need the Queen to rewrite his story for him. All he had to do was show Killian that he had nothing to fear in Storybrooke. Jim got up and bolted for the door.

Granny came out with his food in a box. He declined it, acting all jumpy and odd. She asked him what was wrong and it all bubbled out of him. He couldn't contain it. He told her that there was a special someone in his life and specifically, bravely used the male pronoun to describe him. He waited, terrified, half-expecting to be evicted.

Instead, Granny told Jim to have a seat. _"When you are as old as I am, kid - and I hope you never are,"_ she began.

"Too late," thought Jim. "I'm probably older than you."

 _"You'll look back on your life and the dreams you had, each wish upon every star. Before it's too late, don't sit there and wait for the wish that you have to come true. If there's one thing that I've learned, kid, it all depends on you,"_ Granny advised him.

Hearing her call him "kid" was laughable. Jim had at least ten years on her, but her encouragement was sincere and wise. Jim never had a grandmother growing up. His mother's family disowned her when she got pregnant with him. His father's family had died. Jim always imagined having a grandmother would be fun.

Granny braced Jim shoulders and looked him square in the eye. Granny had a way of scaring a person with her stare. Jim thought he might have done something wrong, then Granny began to sing again with conviction.

 _"Someone loves you._ _You know who. Go and get him. There's music in you,"_ she sang almost sternly, trying to bolster Jim's courage. _"Jim, it's time you start livin'. Time to take a little from this world you're given. Time to take time, 'cause spring will turn to fall in just no time at all."_

_"I've known the fears of ninety long years. I didn't always make pancakes and nanny. But my life's been full of laughter and love. That's why they all call me Granny! Everybody!"_

Granny motioned for everyone to join in. Jim cowered in his seat, embarrassed. The whole diner, sans Nadir and a depressed Darius, joined her in encouraging Jim. _"There's music to play, things to do, everything for both him and you! Life's a ball, so go and throw it. It's just waiting for you. You're alive, so go on and show it. There's so much living to do!"_

Jim had everyone's support. Granny didn't bat an eyelash when Jim said "he." This was the most wonderful moment of Jim's life. Granny squeezed Jim into a big bear hug. Even without Killian, Jim had never felt so accepted as he did in that moment.

 _"Oh, it's time to start livin', time to take a little from the world we're given. This is your time. Now I'll throw off my shawl,"_ sang Granny, full of life and energy. She grabbed Ruby and Jim's hands and held them tight. _'"Cause watching your flings be flung all over makes me feel young all over!"_

 _"In just no time at all!"_ sang the diner, including Jim. He was filled with verve, ready to chase his dreams, for once excited to be alive. He wasted so much time, time that would make even Granny's head spin.

Jim couldn't stand to waste a single minute more. He needed to find Killian. Jim threw his arms around Granny for a second hug. His whole life might have been different if only he'd had a grandmother. Jim wasn't just accepted. For once, Jim was safe.

Killian wouldn't need to hide behind Emma to be safe anymore. He wouldn't have to settle for second best when Jim was right in front of him. They could finally be together and no one would try to hurt them or send them away. This was the moment Jim had prayed for all his life. Then fate sent him a sign in the form of a text message.

 

**Emma Swan**

Quasimodo came to the station with the intel you gathered. We're heading to the chapel soon. I'm meeting Killian at The Rabbit Hole to pick him up. We might need backup.

**James Hawkins**

I'll meet you there in a few.

 

Jim supposed Emma must have chilled out. Either that, or she was desperate for assistance. Either way, now he knew where to find Killian. He just needed to get there first. Jim headed for the door.

Granny still had one more thing to say when everyone else quieted down. _"Now, go wherever you want to go. Do whatever you want to do. You can be whoever you want to be. Go make your wish come true. Jim, there's music in you."_ She poked his chest to drive the point home.

Jim started to get choked up. Then Granny practically pushed Jim out the door to go find him, still not knowing who the "him" in question was. Jim gave Darius a sympathetic pat on the head on his way out.

"Thanks for the tip, Emma," thought Jim. Little did Emma know that Jim had full intention of stealing back her man at the next available opportunity. He saw him first, after all.

Jim looked out at Storybrooke and the big expanse of sky above. Something stirred inside his chest. Granny was right. There was music in him, joyful music. As he took his first step toward the street, a symphony poured out in all directions. Everyone around him turned to listen and Jim didn't hold back.

 _"Somebody pinch me,"_ sang Jim, offering his arm to stranger to squeeze. _"My heart is beating so fast. All kinds of music are pouring out of me. I’ve found safe harbor at last."_

A jazzy beat picked up underneath him. It was a style Jim didn't know, but he rolled with it. _"Birds flying high, you know how I feel. Sun in the sky, you know how I feel. Breeze drifting on by, you know how I feel. It's a new dawn. It's a new day. It's a new life for me and I feel..."_

On a whim, Jim slid down the railing from the porch to the street. When his feet hit the pavement, a blast of big band music poured out of nowhere. He felt the beat course from the earth into his body and, this time, he didn’t resist it. This song was his, his own joy made manifest, and he was going to celebrate ridiculously.

 _"I feel the earth move under my feet. I feel the sky tumbling down."_ Cymbals crashed with every step. _"I feel my heart start trembling. Oh, how I love this town!"_ Jim threw his hands into the air and did a step-ball change, flourishing his coat around. It was too warm for that lumbering thing. Jim tossed his coat up on the deck. He'd grab it later.

Some people were coming toward him up the sidewalk. Time to practice a little honesty he learned from Ruby and Dorothy. _"I think about that day I met him on a ship moored down in old Porthaven bay. We were seventeen. He was sweet and it was true, till he had things he had to do. I never knew."_

To his surprise, they hung on his every word. _"I spent a thousand nights, dreaming of the night we danced under a thousand lights. It could be like that again, a world of starlight on the sea, someplace made for him and me - like this could be!  
_

_"Once I cut through his fears, break through his chains, I'm gonna dance here with him, let everyone know about this love that we're feeling. I want to cut to that feeling._

_“It's feeling inside my bones, an electric wave of joy I’ve never known. And now this city feels just like home. I’m flying high, straight through the sky to heaven’s dome. I’ve got sunshine in my pocket. I’ve got a new song in my feet. I feel the beat rush through my body when it drops. I can't stop the feeling and you can’t stop the beat!"_

The people gathered around him awaiting Jim's next cue. He took one step, producing a clicking noise on the ground. Another step, another click. People started walking with him. Their own shoes started clicking, tapping in time with the rhythm.

Jim broke into a full on dance in the middle of the street, his heels clacking against the pavement. Every move he made was mirrored by the chorus of ecstatic Storybrooke citizens. Feeling bold, Jim attempted a backflip. He stuck the landing.

Jim then remembered The Rabbit Hole. No more time for dancing. Jim broke into a run down the street. He magnetically pulled others along with him, who began singing along. Jim didn't pay them mind anymore. He had eyes for only one man.

_“I used to think maybe you loved me. Now I’m sure that it’s true. I must have spent my whole life just waiting for you. I don’t want you back for the weekend, not back for a day. Baby, I just want you back and I want you to stay._

_“Oh, this is where it starts. Lightning strikes our hearts. It’s louder than gun and brighter than the sun. We will be the stars shining from the sky, walking on sunshine. Oh, don’t I feel good?”_

The chorus of folks behind him, bewitched by his fervor, cheered him on. _"Go, go, go, Jim! You know what they say! Go, go, go Jim! Today is the day! No time to waste. You're still your prime. Go out and find him while you still have time!"_

Jim halted. Just before the people behind him could turn into a full-on gospel choir, another burst of music was coming around the bend. Down the street came a marching band. They looked like they came from the circus. The Queen must have let them go.

Seventy-six trombones led the big parade while one-hundred and ten coronets played the air, at least that was Jim's estimate. Clowns were handing out balloons and Jim didn't feel the slightest bit nervous. He didn’t know what the hell they were doing there, but he wanted in. This was his moment. Today was the day he would reclaim parades. Leaving his new friends behind, Jim strode proudly toward the mob.

_“Before the parade passes by, before it goes on and only I’m left. Before the parade passes by, I’ve gotta get in step while there’s still time left. I’m ready to move out in front. Life without him has no reason or rhyme left. I can feel joy again. I feel a drive again. I can feel my heart coming alive again, and nobody, no, nobody is gonna rain on my parade!”_

The bandleader, moved by Jim’s exuberance, passed the baton to him. He twirled it like he’d been doing it his whole life. Seizing control of the parade, Jim led them onward toward The Rabbit Hole. If this didn't get Killian's attention, nothing would.

Further up Main Street, Killian stepped out of the bar for some air. He heard the parade music coming down the street. That was odd enough on its own, but then he saw Jim leading the charge while the musicians played “The Entrance of the Gladiators.” It was worthy of a thousand "bloody hells."

As they neared the tavern, the entire parade and onlookers sang of Jim, _“He’s a brass band. He’s a harpsichord. He’s a clarinet. He’s a philharmonic orchestra. He’s a barbershop quartet. He’s the trumpets in a royal parade, a wild woodwind blast!”_

Jim chimed in, hoisted up onto the parade float. " _I’m the bells of the great Notre Dame. I made it! Hey, look at me, Mom! And all kinds of music keep pouring of me ‘cause we'll be together at last!”_

Jim pointed straight to Killian, holding his baton like a microphone. The magic made his voice carry enough as it was. _"From this moment on, you and I, babe, we're riding high, babe. Every care is gone from this moment on!"_ Killian wanted to run screaming, but every part of him was frozen in place. Jim just kept going.

 _"Our old world was a blue world. Now this bold world is our new world. It's a new dawn! It's a new day! It's a new life!"_ Trumpets roared. Jim started tap-dancing again. _"It's a new_ _dawn! It's a new day! It's a new life!"_ The band was going absolutely crazy.

Jim did a flip off the float, caught by the other performers. _"It's a new dawn! It's a new day! It's a life for us! And I'm..."_ Jim did a melismatic vocal run just for the hell of it. _"...feeling good!"_

The band played a final riff as Jim threw the spinning baton in the air and caught it with ease. They all struck a pose as the saxophone had its last hurrah. Panting for air, Jim looked over at Killian. He better be impressed. Fuck flowers. He brought the man a whole goddamn parade.

Jim handed the baton back to the bandleader, who saluted him. Killian slipped back into the bar, mortified. Jim was too blinded by his newfound optimism to see what an overwhelming gesture this was.

After bidding the parade adieu, Jim followed Killian into The Rabbit Hole. Once inside, he was immediately lost in a crowd of rowdy sports fans chanting,  _"I get knocked down, but I get up again. You're never gonna keep me down!"_ Jefferson must have had an early shift that day, because Izzy was alone, utterly swamped by drink orders. Jefferson's whereabouts weren't important. Jim had wonderful news that he was just bursting to share. It was going to change everything.

He hunted for a few minutes, before he found Killian hiding behind a menu in the corner. Jim rolled his eyes and ripped it out of his hand. Killian swore under his breath. He got up and angled himself so he and Jim were facing away from the crowd.

 _“Give me a second here. We need to get our stories straight,"_ he sang quietly, looking over his shoulder. _"Emma’s in the bathroom and she's still in an unpleasant state. Look, mate, our friends are waiting for me just across the bar. We can sit and talk this over anywhere but where we are."_

Emma was already here? Oh well. Jim presented Killian with an earring that he kept on a chain around his neck. It was the mate to the earring Killian still wore. It was their promise, the one they made before Killian sailed away to Neverland and never returned.

Killian took it and sighed. _"I know I gave that to you years ago, and I've been trying to forget. Between the lies and alibis, the holes in my apologies, I know we haven't fixed things yet. By the time the bar closes, if you want to talk things out, I'll drive you back home tonight."_

He thought that might be enough for now, but Jim needed more. _"Yeah, you're waiting for your girlfriend. She's upset, going off about something that you said. You know she'll never get you like I do,"_ Jim sang, his sympathy for Emma running dry.

_"Walking the streets with you beside the sea, I can't help feeling this is how it ought to be. Especially here, we can be ourselves. It'll be easy. People like us, we're welcome around here. There isn't anything we would have to fear. No one would care that we're in love."  
_

Killian needed to stop Jim before he got carried away again. " _It's not that easy. Jim, I don't think you understood. I meant what I said. No. And I don't think things would be that simple."_

Jim wasn't having it. Killian needed to listen. Everything was going to be absolutely wonderful, if he could just get him to see. “ _Can't you see that I'm the one who understands you?"_ Jim begged him. _"I've been here all along so why can't you see you belong with me? Killian, there's no reason to hide here. Let go of your fear. Why don't you see? You can be with me."_

 _"I don't need you to sell me on reasons to want you,"_ sang Killian, a bit frustrated. _"I don't want you to search for the proof that I should. Please, don't try to convince me."_

 _"You don't have to be scared we don't belong,"_ Jim sang, grabbing his hand. _"Don't you know now that everything's good?"_

To Killian's great unease, Jim sat him down and told him everything he learned from Ruby and Dorothy. Nobody cared. They were safe, finally. Jim could hold Killian's hand walking down the street. They could even get married. Everything Killian had to be afraid of, whatever reason he was choosing Emma over Jim, didn't matter here.

Jim expected Killian to be elated, or at least relieved. He wasn't though. _"I thought you might not know,"_ sang Jim, confused.

 _"Why would I not know?"_ Killian sang back, still in hushed tones. _"I learned that almost three years ago."_ Jim was stunned. He was sure this had to be it.

_"Then what's it really about? Is really about just Emma, Killy? Can you please for a moment stop dodging and say what you feel? Is it just that you've been so frightened of everyone knowing you're different? Am I making things sound too much easier than they'd turn out to be? Talk to me, Killy. Talk to me."_

Killian buried his head in his hand and groaned. Jim really wished Killian wasn't so melodramatic. He'd been that way since they were kids. It was charming at the time.

" _Tell me that you're scared. Tell me you're relieved. Tell me that you're bored, but don't assume I know. Tell me what you feel,"_ Jim besought him. _  
_

Killian made eye contact with Jim. He looked so tired. Was Jim really so exhausting to him now? _"You know exactly how I feel. If there were some other way to say what I'm feeling, I swear I don't know how. You'll never know if you don't by now."_

Biting down hard on his lip, Killian was in so much pain. He was straining to keep himself together, to not let something slip out. But, like at the park, Killian's fear leaked out into another person who did the talking for him.

Away at the bar, Izzy spilled a drink she was mixing to sing, " _I've seen men get flogged, even hung. I heard good friends talk and it stung. And I'd think to myself, what a miserable world."_ The poor girl was terrified by what came out of her mouth.

Hearing her, Killian let Izzy go. If this had to come out now, it would come from him. It was only right. " _I've lost girls before 'cause I once loved you. Now, I have Emma. I'm scared she'd leave me too. But even if not, Jim... it's still a miserable world."_

There were others? Well, it had been three hundred years. Jim hadn't exactly put his love life on hold. "Love" might be a strong word, but there had still been Dorian. And Nick. And Friday. None of those men meant a damn thing to Jim though.

Killian went on. _"You don't need more reminders of all that I've broken. And I don't need you to fix what I'd rather forget."_

 _"Then let's clear the slate and start over. Try to quiet the noises in your head,"_ Jim told him. _"I can't compete with all that."_

Killian wasn't convinced. Jim took a breath and organized this thoughts. Killian was wounded, even more so than before. Jim could understand that. He was wounded too, one more thing they had to share. That didn't mean they couldn't try again.

 _“Sure, we're damaged, badly damaged. But, come on, what else is new? The years have surely changed us, but that doesn't mean we're through,"_ Jim sang, as Killian kept checking behind him for Emma.

_"Let's start over, walk the shoreline, skip some stones, and sing off-key. Then we’ll sail into the sunset. Remember how it used to be when we were seventeen? That's all we'd want to do. I would be by your side. I planned my life with you.”_

This couldn't go on, but what more could Killian say? He'd already said no, and he'd already caused Jim so much pain. Was reuniting the only way Jim saw to fix that?

 _"People hurt you or they vanish, which I never meant to do. Yes, we've changed. Our lives are different. We both walk a path that's new. We'll go camping or go fishing, take some to reconnect. But the one thing I can't promise is the one thing you expect,"_ Killian sang to him, trying to make him see reason. _  
_

Jim pulled Killian up into a slow dance and, with music pulling at his heartstrings, Killian was compelled to go along. He checked the crowd. Everything else had been so strange that day, no one thought much of it.

The music picked up as Jim's mood lifted, oblivious to Killian uncomfortably angling away. _"Isn't it so nice, a world that's kinder? We've already waited far too long. Wouldn't it be nice to live together in the kind of world where we'd belong? Happy times together we'll be spending. Finally, we'll have our happy ending!”_

Killian’s defenses seemed to be dropping. Jim was sure he was winning him over. He embraced him and Killian didn’t pull away. Their dance slowed down again. Jim tried to move with him, but Killian's body was stiff as a board. Jim whispered in his ear.

_"It could be us and only us. What came before won't count anymore or matter. What if it's you and me? That's all that we'd need it to be. No one else but the two of us here."_

_"Jim, that's impossible,"_ Killian sang.

 _"We can just watch the whole world disappear, till you're the only one I still know how to see. What'll it be?"_ Jim asked, fully expecting a slightly hesitant but confident yes. Killian didn't have a response other than vague discomfort. Jim implored him again.

_“Who cares what happens now? Just keep your hand in mine. Your hand feels so grand in mine. Let people say we're in love. Starlight looks well on us. Let the stars beam from above. Who cares if they tell on us? Let people say we're in love! The rest of the world falls away. What do you say?"_

Killian had enough. How many time did he have to say no? He extricated himself from Jim's arms. _"Jim, we're damaged, badly damaged,"_ Killian sang, creating some distance between them. _  
_

Jim closed the gap again. _"But your love's too good to lose. Hold me tighter, even closer. I'll stay if I'm what you choose."_

Jim looked up and saw Emma returning from the restroom. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and crossed to the front door. Clearly, she had just gotten a call.

Killian turned and saw her leave. _"You're not the one I choose."_ Killian sat back down and tugged on Jim's sleeve so he'd do the same. The music shifted. It wasn't romantic. It was low and moody, hushed.

_"There could be good times again for me and you, but we can't be together. You must feel it too. I'm glad for what we had and how I once loved you. It's too late, Jim. It's too late. I know you think we could make it, but something inside has died and I can't hide it. No, I can't fake it."  
_

Jim had a retort, but Killian shut him down. _"No one is you, Jim, there we agree. But no one is her, Jim, and you have to see that we do not belong together and we'll never belong. What made things seem right together was what made it all wrong."  
_

 _"Dreams lasted so long, even when you were gone,"_ Jim sang, clutching Killian's hand. _"I know you love me and soon you will see. You're meant for me and I was meant for you."_

 _"I left and your world was shaken. Guess what?"_ Killian sang more sternly, withdrawing his hand. _"My choice may have been mistaken, but the choosing was not. Move on."_

Jim was more than willing to forgive Killian for leaving, but the callous way he said that stung. _"You chucked me out like I was trash. You're doing it again. Now, before I say something rash, let me take a breath and count to ten."_

He took a breath, but it did nothing to calm him down. _"These assholes are the key. They're keeping you away from me. They made you blind, messed up your mind but I can set you free."_ Jim looked into Killian's eyes like he was trying to examine his brain.

 _"You left me and I fell apart. I punched the wall and cried."_ Jim punched a support beam. BAM. BAM. BAM. _"Then I found you and my heart erupted with a love I thought had died. But now you're so happy with your perfect, charming family. Well, that's swell but what the hell about me?"_

Through gritted teeth, Jim desperately sang, _"I was meant to be yours. We were meant to be one. Don't give up on me now. Finish what we've begun. You were meant to be mine! I am all that you need! You carved open my heart! You can't just leave me to bleed!"_

Jim's anger turned to anguish on a dime, as Jim realized that he was getting nowhere. Jim sank into his chair. _"Please don't leave me alone while I slip through the crack,"_ Jim sobbed. _"I've been out on my own. Please don't make me go back."_

As Jim cried, Killian realized this wasn't just a broken heart. This was an identity crisis. Killian never knew how deeply entrenched he was in Jim's sense of self. It was something he couldn't fix for him, no matter how badly he wanted.

Still, he tried. _"You are complete, Jim, you on your own. We do not belong together. You are complete, Jim, you all alone. You'd be unfinished, you'd be diminished with or without me. We do not belong together and we'll never belong. You have to move on."  
_

Killian spied Emma come back inside. He needed to wrap things up. " _We can't play this game anymore, but we can still be friends. I know things can't be like before, but can we still be friends?"_ He smiled, like he really thought everything could just be fine.

Jim looked away. As Emma came closer to earshot, Jim whispered, _"I want your love. I don't want to be friends._ _I worshiped you. I'd trade my life for yours. The past could disappear. We'll start a new life here. Our love-"_

Killian gasped. He didn't say it, but Jim still heard it. "Emma's back. Shut up." Jim stopped singing, realizing full well that he had lost. Emma had returned and Jim had to pretend that they were talking about the weather or something, that he had something in his eye.

Regina had called. Someone had just broken into her vault in the cemetery. She didn't know who. It could be the Queen, Hyde, maybe Erik. They needed to get there before they escaped. Jim was too weak to say no. He accompanied Emma and Killian to the graveyard in her ugly yellow bug. They stopped by Granny's so Jim could grab his things. He might need that mask later.

Three times Jim begged Killian to come back to him. Three times he refused. Killian really had moved on from him. Despite his encouragement and offer of friendship, Jim knew that there was nowhere for him to go. He built his entire life around Killian, a grievous mistake.

For the good of the order, Emma set aside their arguments and unusual behavior that day. Life was upside down beneath Erik's curse. No one was behaving rationally. In a moment of both clarity and denial, Emma apologized and decided to let things go. How nice for Killian.

When they got to the cemetery, they saw David and Regina leading a tall, sickly man out of an open mausoleum. He wasn’t resisting, but he was most certainly angry. _“Who do you think you are, collecting these jars of hearts? You're tearing their souls apart, taking them all this far!”_ he snarled at Regina. She didn’t say anything in response. Jim guessed the man must have stumbled on Regina's heart collection.

Emma and Killian rushed in as backup, but there wasn’t anything to do except load him into the police car. Jim probably ought to care about what the hulking man was ranting about, but he didn't. It was just a red herring.

Jim walked past Regina on his way out of the graveyard, fully intending on leaving them all behind. He waved, but she didn't notice. From behind him, Jim heard some gentle piano. It was a tune from Jim's dream. Regina began to sing.

_"In my life, I never thought I'd get a second chance. I thought I was done, then I met you. Though I never dreamed I could learn how to love again, I placed my bet and you came through. I somehow still lost. I somehow always do. This time feels new."_

Regina sang slowly, meditatively. It made Jim feel like a voyeur, but there had to be some connection. The tune, at least, for a moment, had been the same. It came right when Jim first lost Killian, and it made sense that it would come back here.

_“Thank you for finding me. Thank you for the care, and fuck you for making me think that this life might be fair. You promised to love me, a promise you kept, and I won’t be sorry that you said to leap and I leapt.”_

Who was she singing to? Jim turned to see. She was alone, standing in front of a recently dug grave. Arrows had been placed upon it in lieu of flowers. Jim squinted to read the inscription. The headstone bore the name “Robin Hood.” So this was Robin.

 _"I won't regret what I did then. Though it hurts more than I could imagine back when. All the same, even so, I would love you all over again,"_ Regina sang, brushing tears out of her eyes.

She began pacing and Jim ducked behind a tree. _"Am I always starting over in a brand new story? Am I always back at one after all I've done? I've burned all of my bridges and learned every last lesson too. So how can I start new?"_  
  
The music began picking up as she wandered the graveyard, never letting Robin's grave out of her sight. _"I’ll watch your children, both fiercely and well. When they ask about you, my darling, the stories I’ll tell. And I won't regret the lives I didn't lead. I knew you, I loved you, and let that be all that I need!"_

The orchestra played at full blast, filling the graveyard with song. _"We’re always starting over, every life we’re living. And we’re always just awake every step we take. And my love, our life is over but, love, I’ll make you one last vow - to start over and over and over somehow."_ Regina stopped and took a breath. Resolutely, she belted, _"My new life starts right now!"_

Even in her small moment of triumph, Jim felt very bad for Regina. He also strangely envied her. Up until a few weeks ago, he also thought the man he loved had died loving him. At least, Regina had the good sense to try to start over instead of chasing a devastating fantasy. Killian told him to move on. Could he?

 _"I've been afraid of changing because I built my life around you,"_ Jim sang to himself. _"Time made me bolder, while others got older. Will I ever get older too? Well, maybe."_

"How sentimental," said Regina. A few menacing guitar licks played. This wasn't over. Jim poked his head out and, sure enough, the Queen had come out to play. Regina whipped around. She tried to conjure fire, but she only produced more sparks.

"You know," said the Queen, "he'd still be here if you let me be in charge. But no, you had to go and be nice. Go rescue Hook from the Underworld with the Charmings. Bring Robin along for moral support. Now look what happened because of your weakness! Oh, hello Jim!"

The Queen waved. Regina turned and saw Jim's head sitting between two branches. He'd been standing there the whole time. Regina would have been royally pissed if the Queen wasn't taking up all of her attention.

The Queen switched her focus to Jim for a second. Out of thin air, she drew an elegant wooden wand sparkling with crackles of blue magic. "Looks like I didn't need your help after all. Do you really have to keep meddling though? I don't know if it's worth keeping you around."

Bouncy piano played. Narrowing her eyes, examining him, she sang, " _Now, I could stab you in the eye, bake you a poison apple pie. You can't deny, no one would miss you when you're gone._

_"You'd be so easy to kill, but you've got secrets I can spill. That's why I can't decide whether you should live or die. Ugh, you'd probably go to heaven. Oh, don't hang your head and cry. You wonder why my heart's so dead inside? Jim, you're looking petrified!"_

Regina cut her off with a bolt of lightning. It wasn't much, flying straight past the Queen's head. The Queen put away the wand and lit up her hands in flame. It was time for them to battle.

Regina sang out to Jim, who was in fact quite terrified. _"This one's between me and her. You'd better run and hide."_

Jim did as he was told and ran for it. David, Killian, and Emma already took off with the strange man, leaving him with no easy escape. He ran back toward the city, hearing the sounds of the Queen and Regina lobbing blasts of magic at each other.

 _"You're nothing without me!"_ the Queen yelled. _"Without me, you'd just disappear right into thin air and no one would care or notice you ever were here! You're spineless! A weakling! A loser who's destined to fall. You're nothing without me. Without me, you're nothing at all!"_

"And I thought I had self-esteem problems," Jim thought to himself, hiding behind a corner. He had said half those things to himself that morning. Once safely out of sight, Jim checked his messages. Killian had sent him a few texts.

 

**Killian Jones**

We're taking this guy back to the station. He says his name's Adam. Apparently, he’s related to Victor.

Once he's dealt with, we're heading to the church to find the Phantom. The hunchback is coming too.

We could use you with us. I understand if you're not feeling up to it.

 

**James Hawkins**

I'll be there.

See you soon.

 

Jim was coming to the church. He was going to make sure this damned curse was put to rest, then he was going to say his piece to Killian. He didn't know if closure was even possible. His emotions had been zig-zagged all over the map and he barely knew which way was up anymore. Still, he was going to try.

The walk to the church gave Jim some time alone to reflect. He couldn't keep doing this, this vicious cycle. Killian would earnestly try to make amends. Jim would come to his aid, risking life and limb to help him. Then Jim would come away feeling worse than he did before. It had to stop.

_"How did I come to this? How did I slip and fall? How did I throw so many lifetimes away without any thought at all? Why do I want him still? Why, when there's nothing there? Now to go on with the rest of my life and pretend I don't care. This should have been our time. It's over. It never began. I closed my eyes to so much for so long and I no longer can._

_"It's too late for us. It's too late. I really did try to make it. Now something inside is dying. I can't deny it. I can't take it. I'd blame it on fortune, some kind of twist in my fate. But I know the truth and it haunts me. It learned it a little too late."_

The truth was that, even if Killian was scared of his own otherness, he also didn't love Jim anymore. Even if Killian had the nerve to be open about things, he still wouldn't want Jim back. The two problems had nothing to do with each other. He had been replaced, and apparently not for the first time. 

"It's like Silver said," Jim thought as he saw the church's steeple. " _Don't for a second get to thinking you're irreplaceable."_ Of course, the feeling that you mattered to someone was what led Jim to ultimately side with Killian over Silver in the old days. Jim should have just cut and run.

Jim arrived at Our Lady of Eternal Hope. He placed his hand against the church door, trying to will himself to open it. He couldn't be Killian's friend. It was too painful. Not now, maybe not ever. As soon as they were through here, Jim would tell Killian that he was done. Tomorrow, this would be all over. _"It ends tonight."_

He opened the doors. Inside the church foyer, everyone had gathered around the sanctuary's entrance. They all had their headphones back on, sans Quasimodo who didn't need them. Jim had forgotten his pad and headphones who-knows-where. David waved and approached him. He wrote something and showed Jim his pad.

"He's locked in the chapel. He won't come out. We've tried everything."

Jim wished Nadir had a car or a phone so he could advise them. Oh well. Jim already had an ace in the hole. He looked at Emma and Killian writing messages to each other. They appeared to have sorted things out.

He really wanted to skip to the part where he gave Killian his fond farewell. Erik was standing in his way. Quasimodo stood by the door awkwardly, waiting for them to make a decision. All the while, organ music pumped out through the cracks in every door.

Jim took David's pen and wrote something down. "Let me talk to him."

David cocked his eyebrow. "Really? You're sure?" he wrote. _  
_

Jim nodded. He took out the mask from inside his pocket. Quasimodo looked anxiously at it. He should have thought to grab it. Jim took Emma's megaphone. She showed him how to use it.

Jim held the object in front of his mouth. He knew this was going to sound ridiculous sung through a megaphone. _"Erik, this is Jim Hawkins! If it's not too much to ask, I'd like to come and talk to you. I also have your mask!"_ Jim told him, loud enough to penetrate the sanctuary's walls.

The door creaked open, but the music continued to play. Jim approached the door. He was going in alone. "It's your funeral," Quasi said, making way for him. Jim slipped inside on what could very well turn out to be a suicide mission. The door snapped shut, refusing anyone else.

It was still light enough outside for Jim to see inside the darkened church. Jim looked straight across the chapel. There was Erik, sitting at the organ, bathed in candlelight. When the door clicked shut, Erik stopped playing. A hush fell over the room.

"Hello, Mr. Hawkins. Come to gawk at me again?" Erik asked morosely. Despite the music, he was speaking. “Did the Daroga send you?”

Would Jim be able to speak in here? "Nadir?” he said, pleasantly surprised to not be sustaining a note. "No, he didn’t send me. I'm just here to talk. Why is it that I can talk, by the way?"

Erik didn't turn around. He relied on acoustics for Jim to hear him. "I can protect against the spell if I so choose," said Erik. "I suppose you want me to put an end to it."

Jim walked toward him up the main aisle. "That's the idea. The Queen's using you to keep us out of her headquarters. Whatever she's up to, we have to stop it. And that means stopping this singing spell you've got everybody under."

Erik covered the keys. The cover shut with a snap. He stood up, flourishing his cape. Jim rolled his eyes. What a drama queen. Jim could see now that Erik was wearing his half-mask again.

"Look, we know the Queen is holding Trilby hostage," Jim continued. "I saw her. We can help you get her back if you just-"

"NO!" Erik barked, clutching at the lectern. His voice echoed throughout the chamber. It gave Jim chills. "I will not trust her life to the likes of you! You care nothing for us. If I lift the spell now, you won't care if she lives or dies."

Jim approached him slower, trying to keep control of the situation. "So, what, you trust the Queen more than you trust us? I know we locked you up and everything, but you gotta admit, you were kind of being a dick."

Erik straightened up, affronted. Jim softened his tone even more. "I know you're afraid to lose her, but the Queen is not going to make good on what she promised. You have to know that. After she gets what she wants, she'll probably kill Trilby just for fun."

Incensed, Erik reached for a whip-like weapon underneath his cape. Jim fought the urge to run. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be saying things like that. I know you're scared. I know that you're in pain."

Erik scoffed. "What would you know about my pain?" Erik asked condescendingly. "Do you have any idea what it's like, hiding your true face, being rejected at every turn? Do you know what it's like to find the one person who might truly see you and have them ripped away?"

Jim knew exactly what that was like. It was the story of his life. He didn't wear a disfigurement on his face or a mask to hide it, but to anyone he dared let close to him, he was just as freakish.

"I know a lot, actually," Jim began, climbing the steps to where Erik stood. He'd read his book. He knew the broad strokes.

"Do you?" Erik ripped off his mask and, for the first time, Jim got a close look at the man's full face. It was a mangled, skeletal mess.

Jim strained to stop himself from showing revulsion, but he failed. Erik must have been accustomed to that though. It didn't anger him at all. Jim fought back vomit.

"Yes. I know about the opera. I know about Christine. I know she chose someone else over you and I know how bad that hurts," Jim said earnestly. "I'd give anything for a second chance. I may never have that, but that doesn't mean you can't. And I want to help you." Jim lifted the cover and played a chord on the organ.

"You can't help me. No one can. _Observe my twisted face,"_ Erik sang, though Jim would prefer not. _"There's not the slightest trace of anything that even hints at kindness. Look at my tortured shape. No comfort, no escape. I see, but deep within is utter blindness. Hopeless as my dream dies. As the time flies, love's a lost illusion. Helpless, unforgiven, cold and driven to this sad conclusion._

_"No beauty could move me, no goodness improve me, no power on earth if I can't love her. No passion could reach me. No lesson could teach me. Oh, how I could love her and make her love me too. If I can't love her, then who?"_

Erik walked slowly away down the opposite steps. Jim had to hand it to him. In a 'difficult to love' contest, Erik would be number one with a bullet. Jim might be queerer than a three-dollar coin, but he never broke any mirrors just by looking at them. Even so, Jim knew what it was like to be different, and he knew how lonely that could be.

 _"Like a fish plucked from the ocean, tossed into a foreign stream, I always knew that I was different. I often fled into a dream,"_ sang Jim sympathetically. _"I ignored the raging currents. Right against the tide I swam, but I floated with the question - who will love me as I am?"_

Erik wandered away from Jim. His voice still carried, as clear as a bell. _"Like an odd exotic creature on display inside a zoo, hearing children asking questions made me ask some questions too. Could I bend the laws of nature? Could a lion love a lamb? Who could see beyond this surface? Who will love me as I am?"_

With Erik in the audience and Jim above, they sang together, _"Long ago, I should have seen all the things I could have been. Careless and unthinking, I moved onward!"_ Their harmony filled the room.

 _"Once I met a girl who had a voice just like choir full of songbirds,"_ sang Erik, still mourning Christine.

Jim wanted him to know that he wasn't alone. _"Once I knew a man who had a smile just like the sunlight on the sea."_

 _"Now there is a girl who's like an angel full of music,"_ Erik sang, thinking of Trilby. _"Somewhere she singing and her song is meant for me. But like a clown whose tears cause laughter, I'm trapped in the center ring."_

Jim could tell he was beginning to win him over, which was a sad sort of victory. Jim sang back earnestly, _"Surrounded by smiling faces, I am lonely pondering."_

As one, they belted, _"Who would want to join this madness? Who'd let me change their monogram? Who will be part of my circus? Who will love me as I am?"_ Jim stopped and let Erik finish his thoughts.

_"Her voice is there as dusk is falling. Her voice is there as dawn steals by. That sound, it haunts my dreams and spins me round. Yet it seems that I, I'll never love her and she won't set me free. If it's not to be, if I can't love her, let the world be done with me!"_

Erik's voice boomed on that last note. His wail of anguish reverberated throughout the sanctuary. The music died, leaving Erik and Jim standing in silence. Erik seated himself on a pew, burying his head in his heads.

Jim came over to him. He held out the mask. After a moment's hesitation, Erik took it and placed it back on his head. He stood back up as his face shimmered into its beautiful facade. Jim made eye contact all the while, showing that he wasn't afraid. He and Erik were the same.

Erik sighed and said, "Very well, Mr. Hawkins. If you can rescue Trilby from the Queen for me, I will break the spell ahead of schedule. But I'll need some assistance. The Queen's magic helped enact this curse. It will take more magic to end it."

Jim was about to rejoice, but Erik continued. "But if the Queen harms a single hair on her head..." he threatened, pulling out his lasso.

"What? You'll kill me?" Jim asked, unfazed. "You need to work on your threats."

Jim led Erik to the chapel doors. Emma and David were mystified to see Erik emerge. Erik gave them his terms. They would rescue Trilby from the Queen. He and Regina would break the spell. Simple. They'd also have to negotiate his freedom. Nadir was not going to be happy about that. 

Whatever. It was in their hands now. Jim wasn't going to have any part of it. He took a seat in one of the pews, reflecting on another mission accomplished, unsure of what was next.

Someone knocked on the door of the chapel after Erik had been taken away. It was Killian, just who Jim wanted to see. "Jim, thank you so much, mate," he said gratefully. "I don't know how you did it."

"You helped," Jim said bitterly. He swallowed his fear and stood up.

Killian didn't hear, other than that Jim wasn't singing. "Is the curse already broken?" he asked, noticing his own speech.

"Erik made a bubble of protection inside the church," Jim told him, hearing a tune waft in through the windows. "Although, I think that bubble is about to burst."

"Jim..." Killian began, but Jim raised his hand and stopped him. "You have something you want to say?"

Jim nodded. He pointed to the pew. Killian needed to take a seat. Jim had one more song left in him and he was not going to have interruptions. Killian sat down slowly. Jim didn't start talking right away. "Jim? Is this about before?"

Jim reflexively clenched his hand. _"I don't want to talk about things we've gone through. Though it's hurting me, now it's history. I've played all my cards and that's what you've done too. It's simple and it's plain. Why should I complain?_

_"This might come as quite a shock, but I've given it a lot of thought. This thing that's come between us, I can't ignore. I've taken all I can. This is where it's gotta end. I can't be your friend anymore."_

Killian's face didn't move. His face, his voice, everything was frozen, spellbound. Jim stared at the stained glass. He wanted so badly to chew him out. Then Jim remembered Quasimodo's words. Sometimes loving someone means letting them be happy, even if you're not. He decided to be the bigger person, again.

_"If I should stay, I would only be in your way. So I'll go, but I know that I'll think of you every step of the way. I know I turned up out of the blue uninvited. I should have stayed away, but I couldn't fight it. I hoped you'd see my face and you'd be reminded of our love, but now that's over."_

Still, Jim had a hard time not feeling peeved. He still wanted to pin the blame on Emma, on how simpler it was to love her than Jim. Jim wanted to believe that he could love Killian better than she could, but maybe he couldn't. Maybe Jim was the problem after all.

_"Tell me, does she kiss the way I used to kiss you? Does it feel the same when she calls your name? It guess all of your dreams came true. I guess she gives you things I couldn't give to you. I apologize if it makes you feel bad, seeing me so tense.  
_

_"But in my defense, it’s killing me to know you without being able to hold you. All I wanna do is show you how I really feel inside. Instead I'm going to walk right out that door, 'cause I can't be your friend anymore."_

Shattered, Killian opened his mouth to speak but Jim had heard enough from him. Jim was the tired one now. Jim tried his best to look Killian in the eye. It burned. He pushed through the pain.

_"Still, I will always love you. I wish nothing but the best for you two. Don't forget me, I beg. As my mother once said, 'Sometimes, love can last. Most times, it hurts instead.'"_

That was all Jim had the energy for. He walked toward the doors, fully intending on those being their final words. Killian set his hand on Jim's shoulder. _"You know, I still love you. I might not be_ in _love with you, Jim, but I will always love you._

_"You never saw how far the crack had opened. You couldn't see we had run out of rope. I could never rescue you, all you ever wanted. Love, I could never rescue you no matter how I tried. And though I failed you in the end, I loved you so."_

" _Goodbye, Killy, goodbye!"_ Jim said, brushing him off. _"Nice try, but I can't keep playing this game. It's been fun but, really, I'm done."_

 _"Then let me say one more thing,"_ Killian sang sadly. He turned Jim's face and made him look him in the eye. " _I hope you find what you're looking for. I hope it's what you dreamed and so much more. I hope you're happy wherever you are. I want you to know that and nothing's gonna change that."_ Killian kissed Jim's cheek. _"I hope you find it."_

Jim wiped away the kiss. _"It's too late, Killy. It's too late,"_ Jim replied, pulling his hand away.

Killian stepped forward, trying to get Jim to look at him again. _"Is it too late to apologize?"_

 _"No,"_ sang Jim, shaking his head. _"It's just too little. It's just too late. It was a little too long you made me wait. You know the things to say, but it hurts too much to stay. We'd both go mad that way. Tomorrow, I'll be leaving. It's that or stay and die. You loved me once, it's true. You say that you still do, but it's time for me to fly. I loved you once and though I love you still, I know it's time for me to go. And so, goodbye."_

Jim left Killian standing by the altar without another word. He was done. There were no more words left to say and, for the moment, no more tears left to cry. It was time to go home.

Where was home exactly? Jim checked the map on his phone. It was a significantly shorter walk to Jefferson's than to Granny's. "They'd all want to know how things went with Killian," Jim thought miserably. "What would I even say?"

Granny's wasn't an option. Surely, Jefferson must have cooled down by now. If not, then at least Jim could give him a proper apology. And maybe a proper goodbye. He started walking. And walking. And walking.

Finally, Jim made it to Jefferson's house. The lights were all dark inside. It was awfully late. Even the porch light was off. Odd. Jim searched under the welcome mat for the spare key.

"Knowing about this would have made breaking in a lot easier," he thought. "I guess I should make sure he gets all his clothes back." He opened the door into a darkened stairwell. The burglar alarm wasn't even set.

Not finding Jefferson on the main floor, Jim walked cautiously upstairs. At the end of a long hallway, a door was ajar. Jim heard a voice coming down the hall. It was Jefferson. He hadn’t heard Jefferson sing yet. Jim quietly approached to listen.

Jim peeked through the door. Jefferson was looking out a large window framed with white lace curtains. The wall was painted oddly pink, completely contrary to Jefferson’s usual aesthetic. Jefferson sighed and began singing.

_“I woke up this morning and looked at my life, filled with such sorrow and grief. In my addled mind, I could see through my strife that time is only a thief. Time is a thief that will steal your tomorrows and leave you with yesterday._

_"Time is a thief that will rob you of your years and youth is the ransom you pay. I treasure each little moment with you, scared one might slip away. Slipping through my fingers, all the time. I try to capture every minute, the feeling in it. Slipping through my fingers, all the time.”_

Jefferson picked up a picture frame. Jim tried to see, but it was too far away to make out. Jefferson sang to the picture.

_“One day, you’re going to want to go and see the world all on your own, Gracie girl. I taught you everything I know. Don’t forget me when I’m all alone, my little girl, my Gracie girl.”_

Grace. This was about Grace. Was she family or something? Jefferson lived all by himself. He never mentioned any family. Jim could find out more if he just kept listening.

 _“What happened to our wonderful adventures, the places I had dreamed that we would see? Some of them we did, but most we didn't and the one to blame is me."_  Jefferson set the picture back down. He looked at trinkets on the wall, trophies and figurines.

 _"Slipping through my fingers, all the time. Do I ever see what’s on your mind? Each time I think I’m close to knowing, you keep on growing, slipping through my fingers all the time."_ Jefferson sat down on the bed. The frame squeaked. _"Sometimes I wish that I could freeze the picture and save it from the cruel tricks of time, slipping through my fingers."_

The music softened, like the tinkling of a music box, to the point that Jim had a hard time hearing it. He knelt down, then stumbled, bumping into the door. Jefferson looked up and saw Jim standing, listening in the doorway.

“How long have you been standing there?” Jefferson asked. He wasn’t singing. Not a single rhyme. That could only be a bad sign. Jim was at a loss for words. He had seriously invaded Jefferson's privacy.

“Get out,” Jefferson said gravely. His stillness was beginning to terrify Jim, even more than his previous mania in the forest. When Jim didn’t budge, paralyzed, Jefferson stood, puffed up his chest, and bellowed, “GET OUT!”

Jim backed away into the hallway. Jefferson followed, murder in his eyes. The music picked up again, pounding in Jim’s ear. _“I don’t need you around. Get out! Get out! I don’t want your help! Get out! Get out!"_ Jefferson chased him down the stairs to the door. _"I don’t care what you do! Get out! Get out! I don’t care what you say! Get out! Get out! Get the fuck out!”_

Pressed against the door, Jim decided to stand his ground. Jefferson was emotional and caught up in Erik's spell. He wasn't thinking clearly. _“You don’t want me to go. Come on. You don’t want me to go. You might think that right now, but that’s now and it just isn’t so.”_

Jim wasn’t sure if Jefferson was genuinely mad at him for what happened that morning or if withdrawal combined with magic was giving him serious mood swings. Either way, Jim wasn't prepared for Jefferson's next words.

 _“Get out of my life!"_ Jefferson snarled in response. _"Get the hell out of my life! There’s no debt to repay so you don’t have to stay. You’re free! So just let me be! Get out of my life!"_

Jefferson panted. He was all out of energy to sing anymore, but he made his point clear. Jim was so stunned, he couldn't even choke out an apology. Despite wanting to stay, Jim respected Jefferson's wishes. He silently slipped out the front door, expecting never to return.

Jim hurried down the front steps and, from the driveway, tried to peek through the windows. The house was still dark. As the other houses turned their lights out for bedtime, Jim heard haunting voices in his ear.

_“Nobody needs you. Everyone left you. They’re all out without you having fun."_

Jim tried plugging his ears, but the cruel voices of everyone he could picture wouldn't leave. Killian. Jefferson. Emma. Nadir. Snow. David. All mocking him. Then he felt another song sneaking out of him, drowning out the noise. Jim wondered as he wandered where he would go. Now that Jefferson had thrown him out, he truly had nothing left.

 _"Hello darkness, my old friend,"_ sang Jim in a whisper. _"I had a life I thought I understood. He took me and squeezed out every bit he could. The edges of the world that held me up have gone away. I could be falling into nothingness or falling into something so sublime. I'm a man I don't know. Who am I now? Where do I go?"_

The journey down Jefferson's street was steep and treacherous in the dark. Once or twice, Jim had to narrowly dodge an oncoming car. It lent credence to their accident story. Jim half-wished for just one more, so he could throw himself in front of it. That could injure the driver though.

_"Who can I turn to when nobody needs me? My heart wants to go, so I must follow where destiny leads me. With no star to guide me and no one beside me, I’ll go on my way and, after today, the darkness will hide me."_

Jim reached the bottom of the hill out of Jefferson's neighborhood. He saw the sign. Dodgson Street. It was a useful landmark, but he wasn't coming back there anytime soon.

_"Where do I go? Follow the river. Where do I go? Follow the sky. Where is the something? Where is the someone who tells me why I live and die?"_

Jim reached an intersection. One way led, in a roundabout way, back to Granny's, The Rabbit Hole, and the Sheriff's Department. To the right were the docks and eventually the park. As tired as he was, and as tired as he would be after the walk, Jim didn't want to sleep. He might fall asleep forever. Then again, that might not be so bad.

_"Maybe tomorrow I’ll find what I’m after, throw off my sorrow, borrow my share of laughter. With him, I could learn to. With him on a new day, but who can I turn to now that he’s turned away?"_

Jim caught sight of the ocean past some trees and buildings. That's where he'd go. It was his happy place. He'd find answers there. Either there or nowhere.

_"Where do I go? Follow my heartbeat. Where do I go? Follow my eyes. Where will they lead me and will I ever discover why I live and die? Why do I live? Why do I die? Tell me how! Tell me why!"_

Jim sat down on a bench overlooking the water. He needed a break. His feet were sore. His eyes were foggy. He stared out at the ocean. The crescent moon above him cast the faintest glimmer on the waves. It called Jim back out toward the sea.

Pushing through his tiredness, Jim stepped out onto the sand like he had done that morning. No one was there now, just Jim and the ocean and a sky full of stars. If he sat down on the sand and turned away from the docks, he could make believe that he was back on Treasure Island. He could pretend Killian was beside him again. He breathed in the salty air. Then he heard a voice.

_"There's a world, there's a world I know, a place we can go where the pain will go away. There's a world where the sun shines each day."_

It was a soft, seductive voice calling out to him. It couldn't be. Killian?

_"We'll find a new way of living. We'll find a way of forgiving, somehow, someway, somewhere."_

It was definitely Killian. He knew that voice anywhere. He sounded much younger though.

_"Somewhere, there's a world we'll be free. Come with me... Come with me... Come with me..."_

Jim turned and looked, but there was nobody there. The spell was just mocking him. He could still here Killian's voice, retreating back toward the park, beckoning him to follow.

He made up his mind. This was it. With no love, no purpose, and no meaning left, Jim picked himself out of the sand. Peace fell over him and, in that peace, joy. He danced back through Heritage Park with no rhyme or reason to his movements. No one was there, but Jim wouldn't care if there had been.

Jim imagined his parade behind him. They materialized like specters before his eyes. They jubilantly cheered him on his way. _"Go, go, go, Jim! You know what they say! Go, go, go Jim! Today is the day! Your time is up. You've wasted your life. There's nothing left but heartache and strife! Jimmy, goodbye!"_

 _“When I’m gone, when I’m gone,"_ Jim sang, begin to twirl around in a mad dance. He didn't care if he woke the neighbors. _"Will you miss me when I’m gone? Will you miss the way I look? Will you miss me, Captain Hook? Oh, will you miss me when I’m gone?"_

Jim was bitter and filled with bile, but it only made the finality sweeter. His entire life was a long dissonant chord about to be resolved. The chorus joined his song. _"I know I'm out of place, a useless wreck, a waste of space and I know you won't miss me when I'm gone."_

Jim made his way through the woods, toward where Killian's angelic voice was beckoning him. He wasn't quite so chipper anymore. The elation from the weight that had been lifted off his shoulders dissipated as reality set in.

Still, he pressed on. _"And I won't dare look back. Goodbye, Killy! Goodbye! Don't cry. Don't you go falling apart. You're good. You've got the life that you should. It's time for life after life to start."_

As he climbed, Jim discarded his weapons, the symbols of his never-ending quest. The quest was coming to a close, never to be finished, and they would only weigh him down. Maybe more weight was a good thing.

_"Mother, take this sword from me. No use for it anymore. It’s getting far too dark to see and I’m knocking on heaven’s door. Silver, take your gun from me. Don’t know what I’ll need it for. A cold dark cloud is coming down and it will stay forevermore."_

Then Jim saw it through the trees. The bridge. The place he found Jefferson. It had looked so inviting before Jefferson burst through the trees. If he listened closely, Jim could hear the watch in the ravine still ticking away. That clinched it.

 _"I’ve always known this was the end_. _I knew this path would seal my fate_. _I never needed anyone but him_ _but I learned the truth too late. I'll never shake away the pain. I close my eyes but he's still there. I let him back into my melancholy heart and it's more than I can bear._

_"Now I know he'll never leave me even as he runs away. He will still come haunt me, curse me, taunt me, till my dying day. Floating aimless on the ocean, searching for some distant shore, I had fooled myself that I’d find him and be with him forevermore._

_"I raged at every dead-end trail_. _I cursed the dying of the light_. _Now he's flown so far beyond my reach_ _and yet he's never out of sight. Now I know he'll never leave me_ _even as he fades from view_. _He will still be with me like a ghost_ _in everything I say and do._

 _"Should I waste my lifetime hoping,_ _waiting by an open door?_ _I could tell myself that he’ll walk right in_ _but as the long and lonely nights begin_ , _I can only dream of what might have been_ _waiting here forever, for forever..."_

Jim reached the bridge. He was alone now, no ghosts of the past haunting him, not even the music of the night to keep him company. From there he could see the water and the black sky slowly turning purple in the oncoming sunrise. He had told himself it would be over by morning.

_"As I wait for the dawn, I know all hope is gone. I cannot go on for forever this way. No words left to say, dear. No reason to stay here abandoned and alone. As I’ve known, I will always be in this wretched state and condemned to wait for my death to set me free!"_

Shaking, Jim climbed onto the ledge. His entire body was trembling. This might be a bad idea after all. "I'm over a hundred years old," Jim thought. "It's now or never." Jim heard his own voice, singing somewhere outside of him. It was like an out-of-body experience.

_"Catch me. I’m falling. Catch me. I’m falling. Maybe I’ll let myself fall. Catch me. I’m falling. Maybe the falling won’t be so bad after all? Catch me. I’m falling. Catch me. I’m falling. What else is there left to do? Catch me. I’m falling. Please hear me calling. Baby, I'm falling for you. Baby, I’m falling for you."_

Jim forced himself to smile, trying to convince himself that this was the right choice. He pictured Killian's face one last time. _"I could be falling into nothingness or falling into something some sublime. Come what may, I will love you until my dying day, but_ _my heart starts to soar. I wonder what lies in store. I’d always love you, I swore. But never mind. What will I find when I knock on heaven’s door?"_

He summoned his courage. He bent his legs to jump. Something pulled him back by the tail of his coat. Jim fell backward onto the bridge into someone's arms. He looked up and saw Jefferson, confused and terrified out of his wits. He was breathing heavily like he'd been running.

Jim looked from him to the ledge and realized just what he'd been about to do. Jim took in Jefferson's panicked face and broke down crying. He couldn't believe what he nearly did. Jefferson held him tightly and let him cry. He didn't ask questions. He didn't apologize. Saving his life was more than enough.

 _"Everything's all right. Everything's fine,"_ Jefferson sang as Jim sobbed. Neither of them knew what else to say in that moment. To sing anything right now would feel beyond inappropriate. The look in their eyes said it all.

"Just what the hell were you doing?" said Jefferson's eyes. "What the fuck were you thinking?"

"I don't know!" Jim's eyes screamed back as they wept. "I don't know!"

After a long while, Jefferson asked Jim if he'd like to go home. Sniffling, Jim said yes. Jefferson helped Jim to his feet and guided him to his car. When Jefferson opened up the door for him, Jim softly sang, " _Where is home?"_ Jefferson didn't know what he meant. _"_ _Home will be where the heart is. Never were words so true. My heart's lost, gone away. Home has too."_

Jim was shivering. Jefferson buttoned Jim's coat for him. _"Sure, home may be where the heart is. I'm certain as I can be, you'll find home. Until then, stay with me."_

Jefferson hugged Jim for an interminable amount of time. Jim timidly reciprocated the hug, then soaked his jacket in tears. Jefferson took out his pocket square and gave it to Jim as a tissue. Jim hated to soil something so nice with his snot. Afterward, they drove home in silence. Jefferson frequently glanced over to check on Jim, who stared blankly out the window, avoiding looking back.

When they returned to Jefferson's house, Jefferson brought Jim inside. He helped him take his heavy coat off. Jim was still shaking, a blubbering mess. As he tried to compose himself, Jefferson fumbled for the light switch.

_"We need some light. First of all, we need some light. We can’t stand here in the dark and all alone. It’s a sorry sight. It’s just you and me. You're safe, you’ll see."_

The lights came on, hurting Jim eyes. He wasn't in the mood for any more platitudes or attempts at optimism. He knew he had to get to the explanations at some point. Jefferson would want to know why he'd been on that ledge.

_“You can tell I’m a disaster. I don’t want to get into it. Let’s just make this part go faster. I don’t know if I’ll get through it. I should tell you... I can’t tell you.”_

Holding his hand up, Jefferson hushed him. _“Then don’t tell me. You don’t need to."_ He led Jim upstairs down the hallway where Jim had found him. They were walking back to the darkened room with the lace curtains.

Jim was nervous, but Jefferson calmed his fears. _"I should show you why I flipped out. Don’t know why I blew my fuse. I know that my mind’s still tripped out, but that’s not a good excuse. It's not a worthy explanation. I know there is none. I can’t make sense of all these things I’ve done. Who knows why, but I’ll try. Here goes…"_

Jefferson turned the knob and opened the door into the formerly forbidden room. It was a lovely, pastel pink bedroom. There was a little table for tea parties and a bed overloaded with stuffed animals, in particular a hand-sewn white rabbit that served as the centerpiece.

While Jim took in the sight, Jefferson retrieved a photograph of himself and a young girl of about twelve. He handed it to Jim. This must be Grace.

 _"She's a good girl. Looks like her mother, with the same smile and eyes of blue. She's a smart girl. She’s mad about science, loves horses and gymnastics too."_  Jefferson put the picture back on Grace's nightstand.

" _I’ve spent a long time watching from my window. It's been a long time, don’t know where to start. I'm her father but I can’t even be there for my daughter and it’s breaking my heart."_

He couldn't believe it. It all made sense now. Jefferson had a daughter. Where was she was? Why wasn't she here?

Jim followed Jefferson's line of sight to a house nearby. He had walked past the house before. A girl had waved to Jim as he passed by. It clicked. She was the girl from the photo. Jefferson lived right next door to his own daughter, but he couldn't be with her.

Jefferson didn't explain the ins and outs of the situation. Those could come later. He owed Jim a serious apology. If Jefferson hadn't exploded, Jim might not have been on that ledge in the first place. What happened that morning was an accident. Jim didn't know about the wards or Jefferson's trips to see Hyde. Jefferson had no right treating him the way he did, even he had accidentally jeopardized his custody rights.

" _I was out of my head. I was out of my mind. How could I have ever been so blind? You were only trying to help me and I was so unkind. No matter what I said, no matter what I do, I never meant to be so cruel to you. Thank God, I finally woke up. If you're sad, then it's time you spoke up too."_

Jim wasn't ready to talk. As much as he appreciated Jefferson's apology, it didn't make him feel better. It didn't make him any less lost. His head felt like it was full of cotton, or that his brain had hardened into a heavy rock. _"Where is my mind? Where is my mind?"_ Jim wondered, wandering the room.

Jim gazed through the trees at the plum-colored sky over the ocean. Jefferson joined in, feeling quite similarly, _"Where is my mind? Way out in the water, see it swimming."_

 _"I remember when I lost my mind,"_ Jefferson sang. _"Something got lost that I couldn't replace. My emotions echoed in all that space. But I'm not crazy. I'm just a little unwell. I'm not sure if you can tell, but stay a while. Maybe then you'll see, the man I used to be. He's not perfect, but he tries. He is good, but he lies."_

Jim put his hand on Jefferson's shoulder. He might have almost jumped into a ravine, but Jefferson was hurting too, deeply. _"He is hard on himself,"_ Jim sang. _"He is broken and won't ask for help. He is fussy but he's kind."_

Jefferson tried to smile at Jim's little joke, but he couldn't. Together, Jim and Jefferson sang, _"He is lonely most of the time. He can break down inside but he'll still swear to God that he's fine."  
_

Jim realized that they weren't just singing about Jefferson anymore. They were singing about each other. Jim and Jefferson had a lot more in common than Jim had ever realized. They were both so fucked up. But if Jefferson could manage, maybe Jim could too.

Jefferson guided Jim back out of Grace's room. That was enough revelations for one night. Or morning. Jim completely lost his sense of time. Jefferson stopped to look at Grace's picture again. With glistening eyes, he sang, _"She is gone but she used to be mine."_

Jeff shut the door and locked it. They went back downstairs. Jefferson had Jim go change into something more comfortable and meet him in the parlor. Within minutes, Jim had a steaming cup of tea in his hands and a blanket wrapped snugly around him.

With his own teacup, Jefferson sat down in the adjacent chair. They sat there in silence, neither of them equipped yet to address what had happened up on the bridge. Jim could sense that Jefferson wanted him to say something, anything. Jim was shaken and embarrassed. Jefferson was concerned and guilty. They both radiated shame.

Jim spotted a newspaper crossword puzzle Jefferson half-finished. Jim took the pencil and wrote "talk later, no more singing" on it. It was a reasonable request. Jefferson took the pencil from Jim and simply wrote "OK".

"What does that stand for?" Jim wrote. He heard people say it all the time. He assumed it was akin to "fine."

Jefferson shrugged and took the pencil. "Don't know. It's just something people say." Clear as mud. Jefferson took a sip of tea and cleared his throat.

If Jim wasn't going to talk, then Jefferson had something else he wanted to say. He really didn't need to keep apologizing. "Whatever," thought Jim. "If it makes him feel like less of a jerk..."

" _No one's there to guide you. You've been on your own. Only me beside you, still you're not alone. No one is alone,"_ Jefferson sang. _"Really, no one is alone."_

Jim wasn't sure about that. _"I wish..."_ Jim sang, despite what he'd written.

 _"I know."_ Jefferson squeezed his hand. He showed Jim a small framed sketch of a woman's face. She was beautiful. In the corner, in tiny calligraphy, read the name 'Priscilla.' She looked an awful lot like Grace. Jim realized this must be Grace's mother.

_"Her mother isn't here now. Who knows what she'd say? Nothing's quite so clear now. I think I've lost my way. Still, I am not alone. You're here. No one is alone. People make mistakes. Fathers..."_

_"Lovers..."_ Jim whispered.  _"People make mistakes."_

 _"Holding to their own, thinking they're alone,"_ Jefferson sang to him. _"Let go of your mistakes. Everybody makes one another's terrible mistakes. And remember, someone is on your side when others are not."_

Jim couldn't help feeling that Jefferson didn't heed his own advice. _"You've spent so long inside, maybe you forgot."_

 _"Someone is on your side,"_ Jefferson and Jim sang together in harmony, looking deeply into each other's eyes. _"No one is alone."_

For a moment, Jim believed it. With Jefferson's hand comfortingly rested on his back and his face less than two feet away, it would have been so easy for Jim to lean in and kiss him. Maybe it was just the magic or a need for comfort, but Jim badly wanted to close the distance between their lips.

The phone rang, interrupting what had been a beautiful moment. Jefferson got up to answer, leaving Jim by himself for just a minute. Long enough for Jim to contemplate the tender look in Jefferson's eyes and how warm it made him feel. He sounded out Jefferson's name, how it felt to say.

" _Jefferson. Jefferson... Was the melody locked inside me still at last out it came? Jefferson. Jefferson..."_

Upon hearing his name, Jefferson poked his head out of the kitchen. Jim stood up, seemingly having an epiphany. He smiled, the hole inside of him filling again with newfound joy. _"There is wonderful music in the very sound of your n..."_

Jim seized up. He was held back by yet another burst of song, a song that wasn't his. Jefferson involuntarily began singing the same tune. As they fought against their own voices, Jim could feel the presence of Emma, Killian, David, and all the others. The entire town ignited with this singular verse. Somewhere they were singing together, led by Erik, breaking the Queen's spell.

_“By the glow of morning's light, we will make the new day bright! All the phantoms of the night will fade into the past. As we open up our hearts, speak our truth and do our parts to fight that fight, there will be light. It’s over now, the music of the night... at last!”_

Jim and Jefferson both let out a raspy breath as the curse's final strains floated away like mist. Neither of them spoke, afraid that even more melody might come out.

Jim plucked up his courage and cautiously said, “Is it over? Did they do it?” Jim answered his own question when spoken words came out of his mouth.

“Sounds like they did,” said Jefferson, smiling. Both of them broke down into laughing, more out of delirium and exhaustion than anything else.

When the laughter died, Jim once more felt empty inside. The brief high he felt from Jefferson's gaze dissipated when the music left his system. It was just the spell playing one last game with him, or so it seemed.

“I meant what I said before,” Jefferson said sincerely. “Or sang or whatever. I want you to stay here.”

Jim curled into a ball on the couch. “You don’t need me here,” he said, shying away. "I know you didn't mean to be such an ass about it, but you were right. You're better now. Better enough. Why should I hang around?"

“Well, maybe you need somebody right now," Jefferson gently countered. "I didn’t say I _need_ you here. I said I _want_ you here. I've been alone for a long time. It's been nice having someone in the house. Something tells me you've been alone a while too. I’m worried what might happen if you leave.”

“To me?” Jim asked.

“To both of us," Jefferson answered. "You don’t have to tell me why you were up there on that bridge tonight. I've been up there myself... metaphorically speaking.”

"What keeps you going? Your daughter?" asked Jim. Jefferson nodded. "Well, I don't have that. I don't have anything anymore."

Jefferson set his hand on Jim's knee. He nudged his shoulder. He was telling Jim to buck up. "Then you'll find something new. You just need to hold on. Let me get you some more tea."

When Jefferson returned, Jim was fast asleep on the couch. They'd both had an emotionally taxing day with zero sleep that night. Jim needed rest. Jefferson set the teacup on a coaster and draped Jim in a blanket.

There was a brief moment when Jefferson instinctively wanted to place a kiss on Jim's forehead. He blamed that on his nurturing side having gone without an outlet for so long. Jefferson took Jim's tea for himself. He watched over Jim for a little while, before his own eyes started to droop. Jim had the right idea.

Jefferson grabbed one of the decorative pillows and tucked it under his head. He was out within seconds. Jefferson noticed, much later on, how he tended to sleep much better when Jim was around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song List:
> 
> Granny's Diner  
> \- "Ruby Baby" by The Drifters  
> \- "A Wonderful Guy" from 'South Pacific'  
> \- "Born to Fly" by Sara Evans  
> \- "Home Is Where the Heart Is" by Lady Antebellum  
> \- "Blown Away" by Carrie Underwood  
> \- "More I Cannot Wish You" from 'Guys and Dolls'  
> \- "No Time at All" from 'Pippin'  
> \- "A Lot of Living to Do" from 'Bye Bye Birdie"  
> \- "There's Music in You" from 'Cinderella'
> 
> Jim's Big Parade  
> \- "I'm a Brass Band" from 'Sweet Charity'  
> \- "I Feel the Earth Move" by Carole King  
> \- “Another Day of Sun” from ‘La La Land’  
> \- "Cut to the Feeling" by Carly Rae Jepsen  
> \- "Can't Stop the Feeling" by Justin Timberlake  
> \- "You Can't Stop the Beat" from 'Hairspray'  
> \- "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves  
> \- "Brighter Than the Sun" by Colbie Callait  
> \- "Go, Go, Go Joseph" from 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'  
> \- "Before the Parade Passes By" from 'Hello, Dolly!'  
> \- "Don't Rain on My Parade" from 'Funny Girl'  
> \- "From This Moment On" by Cole Porter  
> \- "Feeling Good" by Michael Buble 
> 
> The Rabbit Hole  
> \- "We Are Young" by fun.  
> \- “You Belong with Me” by Taylor Swift  
> \- "Seventeen" from 'Heathers'  
> \- "It's Too Late" by Carole King  
> \- "We Do Not Belong Together" / "Move On" from 'Sunday in the Park with George'  
> \- "You Were Meant for Me" by Jewel  
> \- "Meant to Be Yours" from 'Heathers'  
> \- "Our Love Is God" from 'Heathers'
> 
> The Graveyard  
> \- "Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perri  
> \- "Always Starting Over" from 'If/Then'  
> \- "Landslide" by Stevie Nicks  
> \- "I Can't Decide" by Scissor Sisters  
> \- "You're Nothing Without Me" from 'City of Angels'
> 
> Erik and Jim's Duet  
> \- "Who Will Love Me As I Am?" from 'Side Show'  
> \- "If I Can't Love Her" from 'Beauty and the Beast'  
> \- "Her Voice" from 'The Little Mermaid'
> 
> Jim's Farewell  
> \- "The Winner Takes It All" by ABBA  
> \- "I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton  
> \- "Someone Like You" by Adele  
> \- "I Can't Be Your Friend"  
> \- "I Could Never Rescue You" from 'The Last Five Years'  
> \- "I Hope You Find It" by Miley Cyrus  
> \- "Goodbye, Jasper" from 'Jasper in Deadland'  
> \- "So Anyway" from 'Next to Normal'
> 
> Jefferson's Lament / Get Out  
> \- "Time Is a Thief" by B.B. King  
> \- "Slipping Through My Fingers" by ABBA  
> \- "Gracie" by Ben Folds  
> \- "Get Out" by Madball  
> \- "Get Out of My Life" from 'Road Show'
> 
> Jim Wanders  
> \- "Edges of the World" from 'Fun Home'  
> \- "Who Do I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)?" from 'The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd'  
> \- "Where Do I Go?" from 'Hair'  
> \- "There's a World" from 'Next to Normal'  
> \- "Somewhere" from 'West Side Story'  
> \- "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie  
> \- "Cups" by Anna Kendrick
> 
> The Bridge  
> \- "Knocking on Heaven's Door" by Bob Dylan  
> \- "Evermore" from 'Beauty and the Beast'  
> \- "For Forever" from 'Dear Evan Hansen'  
> \- "Broadway, Here I Come" from 'Smash'  
> \- "Catch Me, I'm Falling" from 'Next to Normal'  
> \- "Come What May" from 'Moulin Rouge'  
> \- "Home" from 'Beauty and the Beast'
> 
> Jefferson's Secret  
> \- "Light" from 'Next to Normal'  
> \- "I Should Tell You" from 'Rent'  
> \- "Words Fail" from 'Dear Evan Hansen'  
> \- "Free Falling" by Tom Petty  
> \- "Out of My Head" by Fastball  
> \- "Where Is My Mind?" by The Pixies  
> \- “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley  
> \- “Unwell” by Matchbox 20  
> \- “She Used to Be Mine” from ‘Waitress’
> 
> Finale  
> \- “No One Is Alone” from ‘Into the Woods’  
> \- "Rosemary" from 'How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'  
> \- "Light" from 'Next to Normal'  
> \- "Morning Glow" from 'Pippin'  
> \- "The Music of the Night" from 'The Phantom of the Opera'


	17. The Strange Case Closed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim and Jefferson, still reeling, are called upon to sneak into the Sorcerer's Mansion and bring down its protective wards from the inside.
> 
> CONTENT WARNING: This chapter contains some brief, but bloody violence. I promise it's not gratuitous and it’s not reflective of the direction of the story going forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be no singing! I'm so sorry I put you through that (unless you enjoyed it)!
> 
> I also apologize if the last chapter got a bit dark. Considering that over seventy years of Jim's life were founded solely on a lie, it made sense to me that having everything taken from him would bring Jim to a very dark place. It's all uphill from here, I promise!

_"Goodness knows, the wicked's lives are lonely. Goodness knows, the wicked die alone. It just shows, when you're wicked you're left only on your own."_ \- "No One Mourns the Wicked", _Wicked_

* * *

 

The next morning, Jim awoke feeling utterly dismal. His limbs were like noodles, and there was a black hole where his stomach should be. The sun was bleeding through the curtains, scalding his eyes. He turned over and tried to go back to sleep. He hugged the covers tight to his body.

Jim then realized that he hadn’t fallen asleep in bed. Where even was he? He sat up and rubbed his eyes. It was the guest room at Jefferson’s house. Everything flooded back.

Jim coming home to Jefferson, Jefferson throwing him out, Jefferson coming to get him… just as Jim was about to throw himself off a bridge. Now Jim was back in Jefferson's home and Jefferson knew what a mess Jim had become.

“Oh God,” Jim said, mortified. “What have I done?” As terrifying as it was that Jim had nearly plummeted to his death, he also now had to face Jefferson and try to smooth things over with the man who saved him.

 _“Hold on. I fell asleep on Jefferson’s couch,”_ Jim thought, remembering. Jefferson must have carried him and tucked him into bed. There was even a fresh glass of water on the nightstand. As thoughtful as that was, Jim was horribly embarrassed. _"Great. Now he's going to be taking care of me."_

“I might as well get up,” Jim said aloud, kicking away the covers. “At least I’m not fucking singing.”

Jim walked down the hall into the kitchen. Jefferson was sitting in what he’d worn the night before, eating another bowl of Captain Crunch and checking the messages on his phone. He set everything aside when he saw Jim enter the room.

“Morning,” Jim said sheepishly. He tried to smile, just so Jefferson would look less concerned. He found himself a bowl and a spoon and made himself some breakfast. He would have been too depressed to eat, except for the fact he was utterly starving.

"Good morning," said Jefferson, trying to be relaxed and keep things light. "How'd you sleep?"

"I don't know. What time did I go to bed?" Jim asked. He felt like it hadn't been very long ago.

"You passed out around sunrise. Maybe 6:45?" Jefferson answered, checking his phone. Jim asked him the current time. "It's half past noon."

Six hours. Jim had managed on less. "I might go back to bed for a bit after I eat then," Jim said, sitting down next to Jefferson. "Thanks for, you know, tucking me into bed and everything."

Jefferson began to fidget. Jim knew he was uncomfortable. Why wouldn't he be? Jim wasn't sure how Jefferson managed to find him the night before, but he was positive Jefferson hadn't expected to find him like that.

"You're welcome. You'd do the same for me," said Jefferson. True enough. "Listen. About last night..."

Jim had to stop him. “Can we not talk about what happened last night? Not right now. I’m not…" Jim sighed, partly to give himself time to gather his thoughts. "Look, it’s not as bad as you think. The spell was making us all act crazy. You freaked out at me. I almost jumped off a bridge. But things are back to normal and we’re back to making rational decisions so you don’t need to get all worked up about me, okay?”

“Jim,” Jefferson began, gentle but firm. “I was not okay yesterday. Maybe I wouldn’t have thrown you out of the house, but I was still very far from okay. Maybe the spell made us get a little carried away with things, but that doesn’t mean we did things for no reason. I was pissed at you. I shouldn't have been and I'm sorry, but I was. You don’t need to tell me what’s wrong. That’s your business, but please don’t try to convince me that you were going to jump off a bridge just because.”

Jefferson left the kitchen and came back with a cardboard box from the garage. He crawled under the sink and started loading the box with cleaning products. “What are you doing?” Jim asked as Jefferson set a bottle of toxic bleach inside.

“Making sure you don’t do anything stupid again,” Jefferson said. He took his haul of poisons out of the room somewhere Jim couldn't reach. He returned and took the kitchen knives away as well.

Jim watched him incredulously. “Really? You really think you need to do all this?”

“Yes,” said Jefferson bluntly. While he was out of the room, Jefferson’s phone started to ring on the table.

Jim looked at the caller ID. “Hey, Jeff, you might want to answer your phone,” Jim told him. “It’s Regina.”

Jefferson groaned and came back into the kitchen. He picked up the phone reluctantly, as if he thought it might explode. He took it into the next room and answered the call.

“Hello?" said Jefferson, unenthused. Jim listened in. "Yeah, I know. What? Okay. Right. Regina, can you just get to the point? And why should I help you? Really? You’d do that? All right…”

Jefferson reentered the kitchen again. His phone was still pressed to his ear. He was looked down at Jim, considering whether or not he could leave him alone. “When do you need me to be there? Can you give me an hour? Okay, see you then.”

“What did she want?” Jim asked, as Jeff put away his phone. Jefferson got lost in his own little world. “Jefferson?”

“Regina wants me to break into the Sorcerer’s Mansion,” he said, staring at nothing. “She wants me to sneak in, find out what they're planning, and take down the wards from inside if I can.”

“Are you gonna do it?” Jim asked, seeing Jefferson’s apprehensive face.

Jefferson nodded. “Yeah," he said, shaking off his fugue. "I’m gonna do it.”

“Why?” Jim asked. "Hasn't Regina been, I don't know, kind of shitty to you lately?"

Jefferson sat back down. “If I do, Regina says she’ll completely absolve me of anything related to Hyde and the Queen. You have to understand, I’ve been trying to get custody of my daughter for a very long time. We talked about it a bit last night, but it’s more complicated than that. Helping the Queen by robbing Victor and then covering it up was a major setback for me.”

"Who's Grace staying with now?" asked Jim, recalling Grace smiling at him as he passed the neighbors' house.

"My neighbors, the Masons," Jefferson said. "When Regina cast the curse, she gave them all new memories. They thought Grace was their daughter, and I had to watch them raise her for twenty-eight years. I was the only other person to keep their memories during that whole time. Regina did it purely to torture me."

"So that's what you meant, when you said you were nobody." Jim knew Regina had a mean streak, and the Queen was even worse, but that was cold. "Why? Why would she do that to you?"

"I haven't always been the paragon of morality you see before you," Jefferson said sarcastically. "Before I had Grace, I was a bit of an asshole. Gold offered Victor and I a significant reward to convince Regina that it would be impossible to bring her boyfriend back from the dead."

"Robin?" asked Jim.

"No, before him. I think his name was Daniel," Jefferson said. "Cora killed him." Upon saying that name, Jefferson's face twitched, like he was reliving a painful memory.

"Her mother, right? She sounds like a real piece of work," Jim said, remembering to eat his cereal before it got soggy.

Jefferson pursed his lips and nodded. "You could say that." He set aside his cereal bowl. Jefferson had lost his appetite.

"Why won't the Masons give her back to you? You're her father," Jim asked. Jefferson loved her so much. How could anyone separate a child from their father like this?

"It's like I said last night," Jefferson told him. "I'm not well, mentally. Twenty-eight years alone fucked with my head. That's why I gave those chemicals to Hyde. I thought he was going to make some kind of medicine that would fix my fucked up brain. Instead... well, you saw me in the woods."

Jim looked Jefferson up and down. "You seem fine to me now," he said. Well, Jefferson looked mostly fine. He was anxious, a bit high-strung perhaps, but nothing that would make him an unfit parent.

"I think I'm fine too," Jefferson replied. "Fine enough. But the Masons don't think so and Regina isn't so sure either. That's why I've needed to act like everything is normal while I've been recuperating. I couldn't let them see me have a meltdown. But I don't need to worry about that anymore. I just need to get through those wards and I'll be right back where I was."

That didn't sit right with Jim. "This kind of seems like she's extorting you or something. Break into this mansion or you won't see your kid again? What kind of bullshit is that?"

"She wants to think she got rid of her dark side when she split off from the Queen, but it's still there," said Jefferson, standing up. "At least, she's doing a shitty thing for a good reason this time. I know the Queen has to be stopped. I saw it firsthand. If I were her, I'd probably do the same thing."

Everything about the situation sucked. Jefferson shouldn't have to fight for his daughter to begin with, but the fact that Grace was being dangled like a carrot to make Jefferson do Regina's bidding - it was disgusting. Jim forgot his problems for the moment. He wasn't going to stand for this.

“Are you going to be all right here while I’m out? I don’t know how long this will take,” said Jefferson, grabbing his coat from the closet.

Jim set aside his breakfast and stood up. “Don’t worry about it. I’m coming with you," he declared.

Jefferson was clearly struggling with that idea. "You're going to do what now?"

Jim prepared to make another speech. “Last night, you said I’d find something else to keep me going. Right now, this is the best I’ve got. I screwed this up for you. No one would have known if I hadn’t opened my big mouth. So let me help you. Let me help fix what I broke.”

“How? You can’t get through the wards,” Jefferson asked, putting his coat on.

“I’m not so sure about that. Yesterday afternoon, the Queen found me. She asked if I would steal the Blue Fairy’s wand for her, I guess because you weren’t available," Jim explained. "I said no, of course, but if she thought that I might be a possible ally… maybe I'd be able to pass through.”

Jefferson thought it over. Having Jim come along could be useful, and it would be a good way for Jefferson to keep an eye on him. Two birds with one stone.

“Come on," said Jim, a little cocky for being so depressed. "This isn’t the first time I’ve broken into a mansion.” Jim pointed his thumb in the vague direction of Jefferson's bedroom window.

Jefferson rolled his eyes. “Fine. You can come, but I’m not convinced you’re not trying to find a different way to get yourself killed," he said, regretting every word. "I'm sorry. That wasn't funny."

"Oh no. He's onto me," Jim deadpanned. "Don't worry about it. Let me get dressed and we can go." Jim polished off his breakfast and returned to his room. Jefferson waited as Jim dressed.

He expected Jim to come back with his hair neatly tied and some evidence of personal hygiene taken, but Jim returned still looking like a complete wreck. Before, Jefferson chocked it up to having just rolled out of bed. Looking at him now, there was a faint glint of madness in his ringed eyes, a twinge of desperation. For Jefferson, it was like looking in a mirror.

"You're sure you're all right?" asked Jefferson, a little uneasy about bringing Jim along.

Battling through whatever emotional weights were dragging him down, Jim said, "Of course. Let's go!"

Against Jefferson's better judgment, they got into his intact car. Jefferson looked at the other one through the glass, seeing all the damage he let Jim inflict upon it. "I guess we didn't need to trash my Jag after all," he remarked, a little miffed.

They pulled out of the garage and started down the road. Through the windshield, Jim swore he could make out the silhouette of Grace standing in the front window of the Masons' home. He couldn't imagine how hard it all must be for Jefferson.

"Hey, um, you're not going to tell anybody about last night, are you?" Jim asked, a while down the road. He realized that they'd be facing their friends together. Jim didn't know what Jefferson might say, or what he even wanted Jefferson to say if anything.

Jefferson stared ahead at the road. "I don't know. Part of me thinks I should. You really scared me last night. If I had shown up just two seconds later... I want to believe you're okay. Promise me you're okay, enough that I don't need to worry about you being alone."

"I promise," said Jim. "I'll admit, I'm not doing very well right now, but I promise I'm not going to do anything stupid again."

"Do you mean that?" Jefferson asked, as he brought the car to a stop. They were in the Sheriff's Department parking lot.

They made and maintained eye contact. "I never break a promise," Jim told him firmly. "You can count on that."

"All right, then nobody else needs to know about yesterday," Jefferson agreed. He turned and looked at the station. "You ready?"

Jim withdrew a stiletto from his boot. "Ready," he said smirking. Jefferson's eyes grew wide when he saw the knife. He'd forgotten just how thoroughly Jim had armed himself. Jim saw his look of horror. "What? It's not for me! God! Shit, I just remembered. I left my sword and my gun in the woods."

"What did you do that for?" Jefferson asked him, watching Jim slide the blade back into the boot.

The truth was that Jim didn't think he'd be needing them anymore. "If I answer that, you're going to think I'm not okay. I promise you, the curse was just making me melodramatic." Jim got out of the car.

Jefferson got out and locked the vehicle. "I'm making the conscious choice to believe you," Jefferson said, walking to the door. "But I'm going to ask to confiscate your weapons when we get home."

"What?" Jim burst. "Seriously?"

"We can keep them in the safe in my garage," Jefferson said. "There's no reason for you to go around like a walking armory."

Jim reluctantly agreed. He was beginning to resent Jefferson's attempts to keep him safe from himself, but he knew he meant well. Besides, Jefferson was his only real opportunity for housing now that Granny was going to start charging rent. It wouldn't take Jim long to crack that safe if need be. Still, Jim didn't plan on using any weapons after helping Jefferson bust into the mansion. For his own sake, he had to stop helping Killian fight his battles.

Jefferson opened the door to the station. Jim steeled himself for another agonizing meeting with Killian. Jim had made it pretty clear last night that he was leaving. He made a pretty quick reversal when Jefferson needed him though. He prayed Killian wouldn't bring that up.

When they got in, Happy waved to them. Jim waved back. Killian didn't appear to be in yet. That was a relief. Happy told them to head to the back. Emma and David were waiting.

From down the hall, Jim could hear David say, "It's been way too long. Your mother's been asleep for a day and a half. I need to go wake her up." He sounded distraught.

Emma replied, "I know, Dad. After we deal with this mansion stuff, we'll head straight to the hospital. Mom's tough. She can hold on a few more hours."

Jim opened the cracked door and acted like he hadn't heard a word. "Morning!" he greeted them, helping himself to a much-needed cup of coffee.

"Hey, what happened to you last night?" Emma asked. "We had to go rescue Trilby without you."

To spare Jim the agony of crafting an alibi, Jefferson interceded on his behalf. "There was an issue at home I needed his help with," said Jefferson. "You seem to have done all right without him."

"And what exactly are you doing here?" David asked Jefferson, his face becoming ugly in a way that seemed solely reserved for him.

"Dad!" Emma said. "Cool it! Everything's fine."

Behind them, Regina said, "I asked Jefferson to come in today, David. He's helping us with the mansion problem." She entered and draped her coat over a chair. Regina joined Jim in getting a cup of coffee.

"When I wanted help, all I got was his damn answering machine," David told her. He petulantly took a seat, accepting that Jefferson was going nowhere.

Regina looked condescendingly down at David. "You catch more flies with honey, Charming. You really need to learn how to incentivize people," she said. She turned to Jefferson. "I genuinely want to thank you for coming today, Jefferson. You have no idea how much we need your help right now."

Jefferson sat down next to Emma. David started gnashing his teeth. "Believe me. I have some idea," said Jefferson. "Speaking of incentive..."

"Like it never happened," Regina promised him. That seemed enough for Jefferson.

"Where is Trilby by the way? And Erik?" Jim asked. He was seriously curious. The Queen couldn't be happy about Erik's betrayal. Both their lives could be in danger.

"They're preparing to leave town until we deal with the Queen," said Emma. "After what happened, they're not safe in Storybrooke. Someone is going to drive them to a safe house in a town nearby. We'll bring them back once it all blows over."

Jim pulled up a chair next to David. "So, what? Are they taking the whole circus?" Jim was unsurprised to learn that the Phantasmagorium was not leaving with them. "Well, Clopin is probably feeling very validated right now."

"We don't have time to worry about a bunch of carnival folk," Regina said, crossing her arms. "They're still bringing in money for themselves. We have bigger problems at hand. As Jim can attest, the Queen now has her hands on the Blue Fairy's wand. We don't know how she got a hold of it, but if she needs it for something, then that something has got to be pretty big. There's no time to waste with me trying to bring down the wards myself. Jefferson is going to sneak onto the property to dig up whatever he can on what they're up to. And, if possible, he's going to bring the wards down from the inside."

Jefferson wasn't sure he was up for the task. "How? Wouldn't the Queen need to do it?"

"Not necessarily," said Regina, reaching for the door. "Hank, you can come on in. We're ready for you." Regina held the door open for a bearded man of middle-age and middle-height, wearing a waistcoat and half-moon glasses.

"You all remember Violet's father," said Regina. "For those of you who don't know, this is Hank Morgan. We met him while we were in Camelot, although he's originally from Connecticut here in the U.S."

"How the hell did that happen?" Jefferson asked. "I mean, the amount of magic you would have needed..."

Hank chuckled and wagged his finger. He set his briefcase on the table. "Not magic, son. Science," he said with a husky voice. If Jim was being honest with himself, he was a little bit smitten.

"God, you sound just like Victor," Jefferson said, annoyed to have run into yet another skeptic.

"I've met Victor. He's a smart man, but his view of magic is a bit myopic," Hank said. "When I was young, I was apprenticed to a man who was working on a machine that could transport a person through time and space. There was a bit of an incident with the prototype and I wound up stranded in Camelot. Using some of Merlin's old books, I learned how to intertwine magic with modern technology. Well, modern for the 1800s. It's taken me a while to catch up to the new millennium."

Hank opened up the briefcase. He rolled up his sleeves and removed a very strange black rectangular device. It had little green lights blinking along its side. Its top was covered in antennae. He set it in the middle of the table for everyone to see.

"What is this thing?" Emma asked, getting a close look.

"This is a signal jammer," Hank explained, turning the device. "Muggles use it to block cell phone signals. Sorry, Violet just introduced me to _Harry Potter._ She made me sit through a two-day movie marathon with her and Henry. Anyway, we attuned Regina's magic energy signature to it. It should, in theory, be able to shut down the wards the Queen set up around the mansion. "

David, Emma, and Jefferson were all astounded. Jim barely had a grasp on cell phones, so this whole situation was way over his head.

"I got the idea to start tinkering with tech again when Regina showed me some tools left by, um, what were their names?" Hank asked Regina.

Regina looked very sour. "Greg and Tamara," she said with disdain. "We should have known they were getting magical help when they managed to use a taser on August of all people."

There was a story there, but everybody just breezed right past it. Jefferson picked it up and examined the device. "So, what am I supposed to do with it?" he asked. The gadget was not intuitive to use.

"We've determined that Merlin's mansion is the center of the protected zone. Find the center of the mansion, put the jammer someplace the Queen won't find it, and then press this button," Hank instructed, pointing to a tiny square button Jim hadn't even noticed.

The instructions were simple enough. "How will we know it worked?" Jefferson asked.

"We'll be waiting at the perimeter. You'll know it worked when we come in there guns blazing," said Emma.

"On the off-chance it doesn't, or if something unforeseen happens, focus on getting whatever intel you can," Regina told him. "This could be our one shot at finding out what they're planning. If they find you, the Queen might change the wards to keep you out too."

Jefferson tilted his head at a sardonic angle. "Regina, you and I both know that if she finds me, I'm not getting out of there alive."

Regina looked down and shuffled her feet. "Again, thank you for being willing to do this. I know it's a tall order."

"I'm going in too," Jim announced to a mixed reaction. "Yesterday, the Queen asked me to steal the wand. Remember the graveyard? I think there's a solid chance I can sneak through those wards too. If I can, I'm gonna."

"Thank you, Jim," said Regina sincerely. "Are you sure you can handle that?"

Jim scoffed. "I broke into his house the first day I got here. Yeah, that was me," he boasted, pointing at Jefferson. Since Jefferson had been so cool about everything, Jim quit feeling so ashamed of himself. They were all a bit shocked, but Jefferson's lax attitude told them not to worry. He wasn't pressing charges. "This'll be a piece of cake."

Ding! Somebody got a text. It was Emma. "Hook says that he just saw Hyde and the Queen leave the mansion. We should get moving."

"Yeah, if there's no other questions, I say we move out," said David. Jim put the jammer in one of his larger pockets and followed Jefferson out the door. They would drive to the perimeter and sneak onto the property. Emma, David, and Regina would hang back and wait for the wards to drop.

Jefferson and Jim both climbed back into the car. With the doors shut, they each took a breath and refocused their minds. It was do or die time. The two of them knew they were about to walk into dangerous territory. Still, for Grace, Jefferson was willing to do just about anything. For that reason alone, Jim was willing to do just about anything for Jefferson.

They drove into the woods past the suburbs until the Sorcerer's Mansion came into view. "You know," Jim began. "It seems like David _really_ hates you."

Jefferson didn't even try to deny it. "Yep," he said bluntly. "Honestly, I don't totally blame him."

"Why? What did you do? Pardon my asking," Jim said. He really wanted to know.

Jefferson sighed. "Listen, if we both make it out of this thing alive, I'll tell you about it later. It's not something I'm super proud of."

They pulled over to the side of the road, near where Emma had drawn the line days prior. Jim got out. He looked around for signs of Killian. He must be hiding like the others. It was just as well. Jim couldn't afford the distraction.

Jefferson and Jim stood in front of the line. "You got the jammer?" Jefferson asked. Jim opened his coat and showed him. "All right then. I guess I'll go first." Jefferson slowly took one step over the line and set his foot down on the other side. "Looks like I'm in."

Jim looked at the line. He really wasn't sure if he'd be able to make it. It was all a guess. If he couldn't, Jefferson would have to go it alone. He lifted his foot and hesitantly moved it over the line.

He didn't hit a wall. His foot kept going until it was solidly planted on the other side. Looks like the Queen made a serious oversight. "That stupid bitch," Jim laughed, moving his other leg over. "We're good. Let's do this."

Jefferson tugged on Jim's coat and directed him behind a large oak tree at the edge of the property. They hid there while Jefferson strategized. "Okay, here's what we're gonna do. We don't know who else might be in the building, or what they can see from the windows. We need to assume we're visible. I doubt they left the front door open."

"Why not? Who's going to go in the house with the wards up?" Jim asked. "It's worth a shot."

The two of them crept along the perimeter through the trees until they were at point no windows were facing. One Jefferson's count, they bolted underneath the veranda and hugged the wall of the house. They stealthily made their along the side, ducking under windows, until they were at the front door. Jim tried the knob. It was locked after all.

"It's okay. I've got this," said Jefferson, kneeling down. "Storybrooke was created in the '80s, but this house was made to be from around 1910, so it should have drastically inferior security. I'm guessing no one changed the locks, so I should probably have no problem getting this thing open."

Jefferson removed a large ring of keys from his pocket. There were dozens of them, each from a drastically different era than the last. "Let's see," said Jefferson, looking for the right key. "1900? No. 1920, maybe? Dammit."

He started trying any key he could find: a key with a heart-shaped handle, a key encrusted in emeralds, a skeleton key with an actual skull on the end. None of them worked. "I wonder... I haven't used this one in forever," Jefferson said, holding a tiny, crossed-shaped key made of iron. The door unlocked.

Jefferson had to laugh. "I got this one in Camelot," he told Jim. "Opens just about anything Arthurian. It used to belong to my..." Jefferson couldn't finish that sentence. He just played with the little key in his hand.

Jim said, "We need to keep moving." They hurried inside and shut the door. Jefferson remembered to lock it again behind them.

Now that they were inside, everything fell dangerously silent. They stared down a long hallway that opened up into a larger room. The lights were off, but that did little to assuage the sense that they were being watched. They ducked into a room nearby.

It was the kitchen. Everything was chrome and marble, much like Jefferson's. There were plenty of windows, so they didn't have to stand in the dark. They kept the door cracked so they could hear outside.

"So, what do we do first?" asked Jim softly. "Do we set up the thing Hank gave us or do we start snooping?"

"How about... we start looking around and when we find a good place to lay it down, we lay it down," Jefferson suggested. It sounded good to Jim.

The kitchen had two entrances. Jim and Jefferson each checked a door. No one was around that they could see. "This way," Jefferson whispered. "We should stick together." Jim, already plenty creeped out by their surroundings, had no disagreements.

Through the kitchen, they found themselves in a long rectangular dining room. The table was set for twelve. On the left, there was a pair of French doors. Jim gingerly slid them open and looked through the narrow gap.

He saw the grand atrium of the building. A staircase led up to the second level, to a walkway that framed the room. A massive chandelier, currently unlit, hung from ceiling. There wasn't much in the main hall in terms of clues. Jim followed Jefferson through the door at the other end of the dining room.

They hit the jackpot. Jim and Jefferson were in the mansion's study, which was filled with books and paperwork and other assorted things Jim immediately recognized as being Hyde's. "Now we're talking," said Jefferson, smiling as he took in the scene. They immediately dove in and started digging through the piles.

Jim walked over to the credenza against the back wall. On top, there were stacks upon stacks of brown leather Storybooks. "Jeff..." Jim said, astonished. "You're gonna want to take a look at this."

Jefferson put aside some papers and came over to Jim, who set one of the Storybooks on the desk. He opened it to a random page. It was a story about a man named Jean Valjean and his young daughter Cosette. A few pages later, Cosette was married and everyone else had died a grisly death. There was a little sticker on the corner of the page. It said "finished.”

"What does that mean?" Jim wondered. He picked up another Storybook. Thumbing through the pages, he found another very dense story. "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times..." Jim got bored and flipped to the end. It also said "finished.”

A third Storybook contained a story set on the streets of London about some poor orphan boy named Oliver. "Finished."

"Jim, check this out," Jefferson said. He was holding up a regular paperback book. _Jane Eyre._ "This was inside of it." He handed Jim some medical documents about a mad woman named Bertha Mason, wife of Edward Rochester. She was dead as of last week. "The book says she died a long time ago. Here's another one."

It was a copy of Ken Kesey's _One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest_. Sandwiched within the pages were the medical records of Randle McMurphy, who had been lobotomized at a mental hospital in Oregon B-76.

Then Jim encountered _1984._ "For details, see the Oceanian Storybook," Hyde had written inside. Jim found a Storybook that was thinner than the rest. It seems the Author didn't have much to say, only that Oceania was a terrible, joyless dictatorship with little hope of redemption. A different author must have picked up for him at the end. Winston had been arrested and brainwashed at some place called the Ministry of Love. Oceania no longer had its own Author.

"Listen to this," Jefferson said, reading out of a notebook. "Known Authors: Scheherazade of Agrabah, Winston Smith of Oceania, John Watson of London A-207, Esther Greenwood of New York Q-305..." Jefferson paused. "Henry Mills of Storybrooke."

"They've really done their research, haven't they?" Jim marveled, a bit unnerved. "How long has Hyde been planning this?"

"I just got a text from Emma. They're coming back. We've gotta get out of here," Jefferson said. "Grab whatever you can and let's go."

"What about the jammer thingy?" Jim asked, rushing to grab some of the Storybooks. He took the device out of his pocket and passed it to Jeff.

Jefferson grit his teeth and inhaled, trying to scout out a place to set it. He opened the door into the atrium. The center of the mansion was right beneath the chandelier, right out in the open. The Queen was bound to see it.

"Well, maybe they can still come give us backup," Jefferson thought. He was about to run and activate the jammer when he saw the front door open at the other end of the building. It was Hyde and the Queen. Jefferson quickly but quietly shut the door before they were caught.

"They're here," said Jefferson. "We're out of time. Let's go back the way we came."

They took their hauls of books and notes and hurried into the dining room. They hid behind the table. Jim took the jammer and set it behind the table's centerpiece. He pressed the button and prayed for a miracle. Jim and Jefferson froze when they heard Hyde and the Queen step into the atrium. They quickly dropped to the floor and waited behind the table for the chance to head to the kitchen.

“By the way, I’ve been doing a little more reading,” the Queen said to Hyde. “I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me before. I did plenty of research into our enemies. I never thought to inquire about a friend.”

“What do you mean?” Hyde asked, confused.

The Queen stopped in the middle of the room, her skirt swishing behind her. “You and the Doctor have quite a story. Jekyll, I mean. There's so many doctors around lately. I guess I figured I knew the broad strokes, but the devil turned out to be in the details.”

“Did you read something you find objectionable?” asked Hyde, trying to move past the Queen.

Jefferson tugged at Jim's sleeve. "We need to go," he mouthed. Jim pointed to the villains beginning to argue outside. He took out his phone and started recording. This could be what they've been waiting for.

“I’m not sure,” the Queen said, blocking Hyde's escape. “It says that you were created as Jekyll’s dark side, the secret part of him that he was just too weak to be. But something changed one day. You had to go and fall in love.”

Jim squinted through the cracked doors to see what was happening. Hyde was visibly taken aback. Jim didn’t know Hyde was capable of love. “Yes,” Hyde confessed. “Her name was Lucy Harris. She was a wonderful woman who met a very unfortunate end.”

“Tell me more about her. She had quite the interesting profession, I hear,” the Queen said, implying something sordid.

Hyde straightened his tie. “I see you were thorough with your reading. It’s true. Jekyll would use me to go out and satisfy his lusts on his behalf. A man of his stature couldn’t be seen with a woman like her. The longer I was out, though, the more I developed an identity of my own and, independent of Jekyll’s desires, I fell in love with her.”

“Then what? I want to hear you tell it,” the Queen goaded. Jim was fairly certain Hyde was in big trouble.

Hyde walked over to the fireplace. “She spoke so often of wanting a better life for herself, but society wouldn’t allow a woman like her to move up in the world. I wanted to take her away from that life, but when I tried to be different, to move beyond being this monster, I couldn’t. I was a slave to Jekyll’s lust, his rage, his… darkness. We were both trapped, she and I.

“One day, I transformed back into Jekyll while I was still with her. He was so afraid and enraged that someone might have seen them together. I had to watch from the inside as Jekyll wrapped his hands around Lucy’s throat and strangled her!" Hyde began to get choked up as he recalled the incident. "It felt like my hands! From that moment on, Jekyll and I were in constant battle, each trying to find a way to kill the other and assume total control.”

Jim was horrified. Here he thought Jekyll was the good half. The Queen crossed her arms. She’d been looking through his Storybook laid out on the center table. His story seemed to check out. “So what exactly is your plan after you’ve killed Jekyll? You never exactly told me.”

“Once he's dead, I’m going to do what I promised Lucy. I’m going to start a new life, my own life. I won’t be beholden to the darkness anymore.”

“Well, that’s a little vague,” the Queen scoffed. “And you’re calling upon this dark fairy person to _rid_ you of the darkness? Sounds like a smart plan.”

“We work with the hand we’ve been dealt,” Hyde said defensively. “I didn’t go looking for her. She revealed her presence to me. And she’s the only one who can cleanse me of the Doctor’s sin.”

The Queen clasped her hands together. “Let me get this straight,” she said. “The reason you’ve been seeking out this woman is so that you can wash away all of Jekyll’s darkness?”

“She was a student of Merlin himself. He was able to rid himself of a darkness far greater than mine,” Hyde reasoned. “Darkness it took hellfire to finally destroy. Her skills greatly surpass his and I surely am a much easier task.”

“That’s not the point,” the Queen snapped. “I thought you liked my darkness. I thought you were drawn to it, that only a woman like me could over hope to handle a man like you.”

Jim was beginning to get nauseous. He did not need any intimate details of their relationship. He and Jefferson looked at each other with repulsed faces. Shuddering, they kept listening.

The Queen continued, getting louder and nastier. “It turns out the big bad Edward Hyde turned to the light side for some hooker with a heart of gold a long time ago! What would he ever want with a gal like me?”

“And what if I was?” Hyde barked at her. “I never asked to be this shell of a person. I never asked to be nothing more than another man’s worst attributes. I wanted something, one thing that was mine and he destroyed it!”

”Speaking of hellfire, you’re sounding an awful lot like Cruella,” said the Queen. “She tried to change. Facing damnation, she tried to attempt goodness and remorse for once in her sorry life, but she couldn’t. Just ask Nick. Darkness was her nature, just like mine and just like yours.”

”I refuse to accept that!” Hyde replied. “It’s not _my_ darkness that’s plaguing me. It is and always has been Jekyll, and I will see it destroyed!” He pounded his fist on the table.

Suddenly, Hyde's plan didn't sound so nefarious anymore. The Queen didn’t care about Hyde’s pain though. As usual, she only cared about herself. “So you lied to me then. I thought you loved me.”

Hyde turned away from her, facing the dining room doors. Jim ducked before he could see them. Was Hyde actually capable of shame? Before today, Jim didn’t think it was possible. “Jekyll’s lingering darkness, I’m afraid," Hyde said. "I do hope you’ll forgive me. It won’t be around much longer.”

“You’re right about that. The truth is, I was lying to you too.” From under the table, Jim saw Hyde's eyes spring to life with fear. Hyde began getting very tense as the Queen moved toward him. “This little affair of ours has been fun, but you were always a means to an end.”

“I shouldn’t find that surprising,” said Hyde, turning back to her.

“And yet you do,” the Queen coldly shot back, drawing nearer.

“Why tell me this now?” asked Hyde. “Now, when we’re so close to reaching our goal?”

“Because I don’t like being played with,” the Queen snarled, grabbing him roughly by the collar. “And, now that we’ve got the wand and all your other trinkets, I don’t need you for anything anymore. Miss Poole! Care to bring in the Doctor for me?”

Moments later, a short woman in a nurse's uniform came up from the basement. With her, she brought Dr. Jekyll, muffled and in a straitjacket. Hyde’s hands clenched in shock. He was no longer in control. If there was one thing Jim knew about Hyde, he was always in control.

“Miss Poole, what are you doing with the Doctor?” Hyde asked nervously, as she sat him down in a chair and walked away.

“Thank you, dear. That will be all,” said the Queen, uncorking an unmarked bottle that had been sitting on the mantle. "You know, it’s a shame you never managed to fix this little bug in your serum, but I’m sure your fairy friend can take care of that for me later.”

Regina took the bottle and held it under Jekyll’s nose. Hyde began to run to them, but the Queen took out a knife and held it threateningly to the Doctor’s throat. Hyde froze, completely at a loss for what to do. They were on the far side of the atrium. Jim couldn't make out what was going on.

"I can't see what's happening anymore. Do you think we should we do something?" Jim whispered, paralyzed with fear. Jefferson didn't have answers.

”Any last words, Doc?” asked the Queen, removing Jekyll’s gag. Jim and Jefferson both looked over the table.

Jim couldn’t see Jekyll from his position, but his defeated voice told Jim that he knew he was screwed. “My only regret is that I couldn’t kill that monster myself.”

"I am not the monster!" Hyde insisted, screaming at him from across the room.

The Queen shrugged and grabbed Jekyll's jaw. "Open wide." She forced the bottle’s contents down Jekyll’s throat. He choked and cried out. The liquid burned as it went down.

“What’s in that bottle?” Hyde demanded. “What have you done?”

“To quote one of Regina’s favorite movies,” explained the Queen with a grin, “Some guys just can’t hold their arsenic.”

Jim sprang into action, but Jefferson pulled him back down. He was taking some breaths to calm himself. "Whatever we do now, it'll only make things worse," Jefferson told him. "We've seen too much. If they catch us, they'll kill us. We can either sit here and get our intel, or we can sneak back out the door."

Unsure, Jim waffled between staying and running. The Queen decided for him. To keep Jekyll and Hyde from escaping, the Queen shut and sealed all of the doors with magic, including the one giving them their tiny glimpse into the main room. Hyde ran over to Jekyll in a panic. Jim could hear the heavy footsteps.

Jefferson tried all three doors out of the dining room, then the windows. He reached over, grabbed the signal jammer, and started furiously pounding the power button. "Get it to work... Get it to work... Get it to work..." Jim had to wrench the jammer out of Jefferson's manic, panicking hands, breaking several antennae in the process. "Shit."

Meanwhile, Hyde forced his fingers into Jekyll’s throat to try to induce vomiting. Jim heard garbled choking through the crack under the door. He would have felt sorry for the Doctor if he hadn't just learned he killed in woman in cold blood. Hyde failed to make Jekyll vomit up the poison. Spittle dripped all over his straitjacket. Hyde wiped it on his pants and lunged at the Queen.

“You won't kill me that easily!” Hyde roared. “You treacherous, scheming ingrate!” He hurried down to the basement and returned with Miss Poole and a brown bottle of hydrogen peroxide. She grabbed Jekyll's head and tilted it back, while Hyde made him drink every last drop. He punched Jekyll in the stomach, something he'd been dying to do anyway. "Throw it up, you worthless waste of flesh!" Hyde smacked Jekyll across the face purely because he felt like it.

The Queen picked up the empty brown bottle. She smelled the contents. "Hmm... smells like almonds. Oh, that's right. I had Miss Poole replace the peroxide with an arsenic compound yesterday. What did I give him? Silly me. I made him drink drain cleaner. That can't be very good for him either."

Hyde looked back to Jekyll. In his panic, he didn't notice the silvery liquid drip down Jekyll's chin. The poor man moaned in agony. Hyde looked at Miss Poole, who was smirking. She betrayed him. "No... NO!" screamed Hyde. He hissed in pain along with Jekyll as the toxins in his system took effect.

Jim looked over at Jefferson. "What the fuck is going on?" Jefferson mouthed from behind the table. Jim didn't know what to tell him. They were hearing the same thing, the Queen tricking Hyde into poisoning Jekyll himself.

"What... what have you done?" Hyde groaned, staggering back.

"Well, I couldn't exactly kill you myself. I read your story. What did it say exactly?" She moved over to the open book and flipped a few pages to the end. "'Jekyll and Hyde put each other to death with poison and with blood.' Looks like we're not quite done here then. Miss Poole?"

Miss Poole lifted up the agonized Jekyll and undid his restraints. He fell to the floor, clutching his burning stomach. The Queen took her knife and dropped it on the ground beside him. "Your time's up, Doc. Neither of you can die while the other still lives. You want to kill him? Have at it. I know you're just aching for it."

In spite of the pain, Jekyll took hold of the knife. He crawled over to Hyde, who was breathing heavily, feeling every ounce of pain coursing through Jekyll's body. Jekyll loomed over Hyde and held up the knife. "You ruined my life," Jekyll told him, preparing to strike.

"You ruined your own life," Hyde choked out. "You're a lecherous, wrathful, deplorable man, and you're too much of a coward to admit it. Or at least be any good at it. You made me commit vile acts, unforgivable things, just so you could sleep well at night. Will both of us arrive to meet Hades, do you think? Or will it just be you? Are we really just two halves of one fractured soul? Despite all my study, I honestly couldn't tell you."

"That's enough out of you. Time to do what I intended before Morgana kindly 'rescued' us," Jekyll spat. "You're wrong, Your Majesty. I never ached for a single second, no matter what the book wills me to do. I wanted to do this before it was written and I want it even more badly now." He dove the knife straight down into Hyde's gut. Hyde howled out in pain, eyes bulging, each vein in his face rising to the surface. Jekyll stabbed him again and again, screaming as he did so.

Jim shut his eyes and covered his ears. He couldn't bear to hear another word. He shuddered at the squelching noise of the knife in Hyde's insides. He wanted to vomit. This was murder. Somehow Jim had forgotten what murder was like. He remembered huddling in the jungle with Killian while Silver slaughtered a sailor who refused to mutiny. Oh, Killian. This is what Jim had planned to do to Captain Hook. Hearing it now, Jim wondered if he'd really be able to do it if he hadn't been Killian all along.

The Queen and Miss Poole looked on with slightly bored faces as Jekyll exacted his revenge on Hyde. Jekyll raised the dripping knife. The Queen magicked it out of his hands. It flung across the room, scattering droplets of blood.

"That's quite enough," she said. "Move." Jekyll rolled over onto the floor, exhausted and slowly dying. The Queen loomed over Hyde, whose face was splattered with his own blood. "Any last words before I let you bleed out?"

Tears began flowing out of Hyde's eyes. He looked over at Jekyll beside him. To Jekyll, he said, "If I'm not there to do it myself, tell Lucy that I'm sorry. Tell her that _we're_ sorry."

"I'm not sorry," Jekyll refused. "Not one bit." He attempted to spit in Hyde's face, but was too far away.

"Then I hope you burn in hell," said Hyde. "Even if I have to burn with you." With that, Hyde laid back and shut his eyes. He let out a long, tired breath as his spirit left his body.

After hearing Hyde's story, Jim felt truly bad for the poor soul. He knew what it was like to lose the one you love, to have something forbidding you from being who you wanted to be. Jim had wondered what it was like to see a story play out after it was written. You simply had to set the right stage, it seemed. The rest would sort itself out.

He turned to Jefferson again. Jefferson was sitting against the wall, meditating. "Remember what Dr. Hopper said. Breathe..."

"Well, that's that then," the Queen said cruelly. She looked down at Jekyll. He was still kicking, but barely. "So, I did my research and acute arsenic poisoning takes at least two hours to be fatal, sometimes up to two days. The drain cleaner will probably speed things along, but that was mainly to put a little fire in Hyde's gut. And yours, I guess. People always make bad decisions when they panic. Anyway, I'll be off now. Enjoy your last few miserable hours." She kicked the knife back over to him. "Or not."

The doors unlocked. Jim could see out into the atrium again. Jekyll crawled back over to the knife. "Oh no," Jim thought. "He's going to..." Jim looked away.

The Queen looked about the room as Jekyll grabbed the handle. "Now that I'm done here, I think I'll let them see the mess we made. It's time they remember what I'm capable of." The Queen's hands glowed, raising the wards around the mansion just as Jekyll let out his death rattle. She turned to look. "I figured as much. Miss Poole, could you gather some things for me? I need the Shears, the Wand, and the Transylvanian Storybook. The rest can burn. Best be on your way before the Charmings show up."

"What about the Author downstairs?" asked Miss Poole.

"Right. Him. I suppose I could just kill him. Mr. Carraway was here to help Hyde's little friends, not me. He already tried rewriting my story once and it did not go well," the Queen thought. "Then again, letting him slowly starve to death seems like a fitting punishment. No one's going to find him down there."

Miss Poole didn't care either way. She brought the Queen two small wooden boxes from the study on top of another large leather-bound book. It seemed she didn't find anything amiss with all the materials they'd taken. The Queen thanked her, told her where to find her payment, and vanished into thin air. Miss Poole headed back down into the basement for reasons unknown.

"Is she gone?" Jefferson asked, looking haunted. "God, she's even more of a nightmare than I remember."

"She's gone. We have to hurry. Hyde's assistant is going to destroy all his stuff." Jim stood up and stretched. He flung open the doors and caught sight of Jekyll and Hyde. Jim recoiled at the sight. It was absolutely gruesome. "Ugh. I'll never get used to that."

Jefferson followed Jim into the atrium toward the messy, unseemly display. They both tried to cover their eyes while they were facing the bodies. "Get used to what? Murder?"

"I used to hunt pirates for a living. I've seen a lot of shit. Seeing people get slaughtered like that... It doesn't leave you," Jim told him. "Come on. I think she went down to the basement."

Jim descended the stairs to the basement alone. Jefferson got sidetracked by the sound of people entering from the entrance hall. He was afraid the Queen might have returned. When he saw Regina's face, he nearly had a heart attack. Behind her were Emma, Hook, and David. Jefferson ran to meet them.

“Where is she?” Regina asked as the others began looking around.

"Gone," said Jefferson. "She just poofed out of here."

"How'd you bring down the wards without her seeing you?" asked Regina.

“We didn’t do anything. The damn thing broke,” Jefferson replied, throwing the jammer to the ground. “She must have dropped the wards herself.”

Regina was extremely confused. “Why would she do that?"

Jefferson bit his lip. “She was all done here. She said she wanted... Oh God. You should come see for yourself,” Jefferson said delicately. He led Regina and the others into the atrium. "I ought to warn you. This isn't going to be pretty."

They all gasped when they saw Hyde's body lying dead on the floor in a pool of blood. His remains had begun slowly crumbling to dust, reinforcing Hyde’s fear that he was no more than Jekyll’s shadow. Speaking of Jekyll, they all gasped again at his body, fallen over dead as well. The cadaver remained intact, the true form to which Hyde was a reluctant shadow.

“What the hell happened in here?” Emma asked, thoroughly disturbed. “Where’s Jim?”

As if on cue, Jim emerged from the door to the basement holding Miss Poole at knifepoint. “Found her!” Jim hollered with a smile on his face. “Oh, hey!” he said when he saw Emma and the others. "David, can you get the cuffs out?" Then he saw Killian. He suppressed how much it hurt to look at him.

“Who’s this?” Regina asked while David took Miss Poole and handcuffed her. Regina looked her up and down. She had the slightest bit of blood on her orderly uniform.

Miss Poole wasn’t intimidated by Regina’s stare. It wasn’t anything compared to the Queen. “So you’re the other one,” said Poole dispassionately. “I expected more. The originals are never as impressive as the offshoots.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Who is this bitch?” Regina snapped.

“She’s Hyde’s assistant,” Jefferson interjected. “She helped the Queen trick Hyde into poisoning Jekyll. Then they gave Jekyll a knife and set him on Hyde. It was... I'm going to need an extra session with Dr. Hopper when this is over. It might actually do me some good for a change."

"Miss Poole, right?" Jim asked. That name was familiar. "You wouldn't by any chance be related to the Poole that works at Hyde's asylum? Where is he? I haven't seen him around."

"That would be my brother,” Miss Poole said. It made sense. They had the same dark features, the same prominent eyes, the same humorless expression. She was significantly shorter than the Poole Jim knew, but the resemblance was clear. “Hyde left him to attend to the asylum in Ingary.”

“Great. Now, do you happen to know where Hyde keeps his keys? I heard mention of somebody trapped downstairs,” Jim asked her. Poole didn’t answer. Emma grabbed a ring of keys off of Poole’s belt and jingled them. She tossed them to Jim. “Awesome, follow me.”

Jim led Emma and Regina down through Jekyll's basement laboratory to a locked door. The others waited above. The three of them listened and heard a muffled whining noise coming from a large metal door. Jim didn't know who was inside. The Queen said something about an author. Jim didn't know any authors personally. One came to mind, but Jim hadn't seen him in around seventy years. He was probably dead. Maybe it was someone from Hyde's list.

“Open the door,” Regina told him. She and Emma both fired up their magic, just in case there was danger inside.

Jim tried several keys before finding the right one. He turned it and opened the door for the women. The door was so heavy, it was like opening a vault. Inside the darkened room, there was a man sitting on the floor surrounded by banana peels and protein bar wrappers. They had not been feeding him well.

“Nick?” Jim heard Emma say. The man rubbed his eyes and looked up at his rescuers. Jim blanched when he got a good look at the man's face. No way. No way in hell.

“What did they do to you?” Regina asked as Emma helped Nick to his feet. He was wearing an old-fashioned suit with suspenders, a bit like Hank. A tweed jacket had been tossed in the corner. Nick went to retrieve it and put it back on.

“Oh, nothing," Nick groused. It was the same bitter, sardonic voice Jim remembered. "They just kidnapped me from my home and held me hostage for a week or so. Nothing major. Thanks for coming to get me so quickly, by the way. I really appreciate it."

Nick halted when he saw Jim. At first, he wasn't quite sure who he was. Then Nick started to chuckle. "Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?" he said. "Jim Hawkins, right? It’s been a while. _You haven’t aged a day_.”

“You know each other?” asked Emma, eyes darting back and forth between the two men.

“We’ve met,” said Nick, deliberately vague. “It was a long time ago, not too long after I became an Author.”

Emma ran the numbers in her head. Nick had become an Author a long, long time ago. She turned to Jim. “How old are you exactly?”

“It’s not important,” Jim said, making it sound much more important than if he had just lied. He blocked Nick from leaving the tiny room. “We’re not letting you out of here until you tell us everything you know about Hyde’s plan. Hyde’s dead, by the way. Jekyll too.”

"Oh, happy day." Nick sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine, but can you at least afford me the dignity of a chair?" Jim pulled a chair out from the corner and Nick took a seat. “The Queen kidnapped me so I could explain the Storybooks to Hyde. The one I wrote? Turns out, there’s more.”

Nick began a long digression on the Black Coats, their Storybooks, and what little he knew of Hyde's plan to alter them with the Shears of Fate. Much of it they already learned from Erik, but Nick helped fill in the gaps somewhat.

“Why does she need the Blue Fairy’s wand?” Emma asked.

“I don’t know." Nick shrugged. "Why don’t you ask Thomas?”

“He’s dead,” Regina informed him. “You haven’t heard?”

“Erik?” Nick suggested.

“He doesn’t know,” Emma said.

“What about Frankenstein?” Nick asked. “Have you run into him yet? The other Frankenstein.”

Regina and Emma had a moment of realization. Someone from Victor's family was waiting back at the Sheriff's Department, the man they arrested at the graveyard. What was his name? Adam?

"You could also try finding the De Villes," Nick continued. "They're the ones who attacked Mr. Khan. I've been trying to keep tabs on the whole story. Henry's writing all this down, I hope. Of course, they're probably off guarding their Master, whoever that is."

The vampires. "Dracula?" Jim asked. How did he keep forgetting about Dracula? It was a miracle there had been no other vampire attacks. They must have seen Victor’s crosses and garlic and decided to keep away.

"That would be my guess," Nick replied. "Hyde never told me what they needed him for, but it sounded important. Something about a blood moon ritual? Frankenstein could probably tell you more about it."

Emma, Jim, and Regina exchanged unsettled glances. Nick couldn't provide any details about this "blood moon ritual", but its very name was chilling, apropos for vampires. When it was clear Nick had no more information to give, they decided to return to the main floor and let him go free.

David, Killian, and Jefferson had cleaned everything they could out of Hyde’s office while they were gone, saving it from destruction by Miss Poole. She waited nearby in handcuffs with the sourest expression. Emma, Regina, and Jim returned from the basement with Nick in tow. He laughed when he saw Miss Poole, who’d been “taking care of him” for Hyde and the Queen.

Killian came over to Jim, which they had both clearly been dreading. "I thought you were all done with us," Killian said. Jim couldn't tell if Killian was happy or sad about his unexpected return.

"Jefferson needed help," Jim replied. "I wouldn't get used to it."

Emma waved Killian over, walking toward the door. "Well, thank you for your help, as usual," Killian said with a weak smile. "Looks like we've got more business to attend to. I'll see you around."

"See you around," Jim returned sadly. He was glad that their conversation was kept mercifully short.

While the others drove back to town to lock up Miss Poole and interrogate the other Frankenstein, Jim and Jefferson stayed behind to wait for the coroners. Somebody had to come mop up the mess. There was also some more of Hyde's stuff in the study. It would be a big help if Jim and Jefferson could clean it out and skim through it. Regina promised Jefferson that any business related to Hyde was null when it came to custody. That gave him some relief.

Waiting around the atrium, the smell was positively rancid. They needed to leave the room. They stepped back into the study, hoping to distract themselves from the murders by finishing up the inspection. There was still quite a bit left.

"Are you all right?" Jefferson and Jim said at the same time. They started to laugh. Laughing through the pain seemed to be their thing. It quickly fell apart.

Jefferson threw his arms around Jim. Jim assumed it was Jefferson trying to coddle him after the trauma of last night. "I really don't need a hug right now."

"It's not for you," Jefferson said, gripping him tighter. He had been really quite distressed, trapped in the dining room, forced to listen as the Queen had Jekyll and Hyde meet their grisly end. "Thank you for being here today. I don't think I could have done this without you."

Jim hugged him back. He had to admit, after everything that had just happened, a hug was actually pretty nice. Jim gave him a pat on the back, then Jefferson let him go.

"You..." Jefferson began, making Jim think he was about to say something nice, "...need a shower." Jim snorted. "And a change of clothes."

"Excuse me," Jim protested. "We're both wearing yesterday's clothes."

"I didn't say _just_ you. God, we really have to wait for somebody to come pick up these corpses?" Jefferson complained, trying not to look outside.

"It might just be the one corpse. Hyde was starting to look a little, uh, flaky." Jim grimaced at the picture he just painted. Jefferson did too.

"So, you hunt pirates, huh?" Jefferson asked, changing the subject. "Is that how you know Hook?"

For someone trying to keep Jim emotionally well, Jefferson just pressed his biggest button. "Yeah, did I not already mention that?"

Jefferson shrugged. "Honestly, I don't remember. I've been pretty out of it. Let's say you haven't."

"Okay, well, I used to hunt pirates for a living. That's why I was looking for Hook. He turned over a new leaf, so I let him go," Jim explained. Then he decided to be, if not entirely, a bit more honest. "We used to be friends a long time ago. I knew him before he was Hook. Imagine my surprise."

"You don't seem like friends," said Jefferson, recalling the palpable animosity between them at the poker game.

"Well, people change, don't they?" Jim sighed. That was the end of discussion on that topic. Soon the coroners came to collect Jekyll and sweep up the remaining ash that had been Hyde. That was going to be one poorly attended double funeral.

Jefferson and Jim loaded the rest of Hyde's things into some boxes and carried them out to Jefferson's car. The walk across the driveway to the street was much less exciting than skulking through the trees. They set the boxes in the trunk and drove away.

When they got home, they didn't immediately bother with the boxes. Jefferson was right. Jim needed a shower. He needed to change. Maybe he wouldn't feel quite so miserable. Above all that, he needed to eat. However, Jefferson would not let Jim in the house without emptying his pockets and putting all sharp objects, poisons, and projectiles in his safe. Reluctantly, Jim agreed.

Jefferson set Jim up in the bathroom down the hall. He gave him towels, toiletries, and even more new clothes. _"I'm really being pampered, aren't I?"_ Jim thought morosely. Jefferson was being so nice, too nice. _"Is this how he felt when I first brought him home? I guess it's pretty fair payback."_

Jim turned the handle and let the hot water run down his body. If there was one thing that made Jim want to stay in Storybrooke, it was hot water. Reliable running water that you could drink from the spout. Even in Ingary, that wasn't always guaranteed. The moment was ruined when Jim pictured the man set ablaze in the water tower. _"Now that was hot water,"_ Jim thought.

His blow dryer was still at Granny's. He actually had few things at Granny's to pick up, considering he was going to move in with Jefferson for however long he was planning to stay. He couldn't leave on the Nautilus without Nadir. Nadir wasn't leaving without Erik. Erik and Trilby wouldn't come back until the Queen was defeated.

"Oh God, I'm gonna be here forever," Jim groaned. "Well, as long as I'm here, I might as well make the best of it." Jim tied up his hair, put on another one of Jefferson's luxuriously soft shirts, and went to get himself some dinner.

When he got to the kitchen, a steaming hot bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich were already waiting for him. Jefferson was nowhere to be seen, probably showering or changing. "Is he ever going to stop?" Jim asked himself. "Oh well." He sat down and ate. "Wow, that is some fucking good grilled cheese."

Jefferson entered in his usual turtleneck and sweats to find Jim wolfing down his sandwich. "I can make you another one if you want," he said teasingly, smiling innocently at Jim's lack of table manners.

"I was hungry," Jim said, noticing the string of cheese dangling from his lip. He wiped it away.

"It's good, I hope," replied Jefferson, looking in the fridge for his own food.

"If you tell her this, I'll deny it because I think she might actually kill me. Honestly, though... it's better than Granny's," Jim told him, the highest of praise.

Jefferson laughed. "Well, when you have a kid you don't see that often, you get real good at making their favorite meals," he said a little sadly. "My secret is using brie, white cheddar, and Gruyere." He held up three fingers and wiggled them.

"I'm guessing those are kinds of cheese," said Jim. Jefferson nodded. "You should open your own restaurant. You're great at cooking."

"I've thought about it, but I think folks in this town probably want more 'accessible' food. I think there's a reason they all go to eat at Granny's," said Jefferson. “It’s got that whole ‘made with love’ thing going for it.”

He had a bit of a point. Jefferson’s chocolate mousse seemed pretty wasted on August and Killian. Still, Jim would spend money on it if he had money to spend.

"I eat there because I've been living there and the food is free,” Jim said. “It's actually kind of great that you asked me to move in because she's going to start charging rent next month. And I don't exactly have a job here." He ended with some serious vocal fry, trying to have a sense of humor about it.

"One woman can't feed the entire town," Jim added. "I'm sure people would love to have more options. When my mom was alive, _she_ was an innkeeper. She always said that the secret to staying competitive is to never aim at the same audience and to always have something they can't get anywhere else."

"What was her thing?" Jefferson asked curiously. "Did she brew her own beer or something?"

"She kept a pretty good selection, but my mom was best known for making amazing pie. Meat pie, dessert, didn't matter," Jim said. "Whenever people came to town, the townsfolk told them to come to our place, not the one down the road."

"What was the selling point of the other place?" Jefferson asked.

Jim thought how he should phrase it. "Well, when you're next door to a brothel, business tends to stay pretty steady." They both had a long, hearty laugh about that.

"Hurry up and eat your soup. It'll get cold," Jefferson said. He found some leftovers in the fridge and popped them in the microwave.

"Yes, Mom," Jim droned.

Even though Jim knew much of it came from fear and guilt about what happened on the bridge, he really appreciated how sweet and attentive Jefferson was being. He must really want to make up for throwing him out in a fit of musical rage. The more Jim thought about the previous day, the more ridiculous it all sounded. They'd all been making complete idiots out of themselves.

After dinner, Jim retired to his room. It wasn't bedtime yet, but he needed a nap more than anything in the world. He let himself fall face-first into the sheets. He took a deep breath. It still smelled freshly laundered. He got under the covers and quickly passed out.

When Jim woke up, it was nighttime. He looked out the window. The streetlights were on. His stomach gurgled. He was already hungry again. Jim checked the clock. It was 9:52 PM. Jefferson was probably still awake. Maybe if he pouted enough, Jefferson would make him more grilled cheese. Jim found Jefferson in the parlor sipping some tea and reading a book. He was looking over the materials they'd brought home from the mansion.

"Have a nice nap?" he asked, looking up from a heavily annotated copy of _The Count of Monte Cristo._ He took another cautious sip. It was still hot.

"Yeah, what are you up to?" Jim asked, as if it wasn't clear.

Jefferson sighed. "My job's not totally done until I've read through all this shit," he complained. "It's exhausting."

"I can help. What still needs reading?" asked Jim, sitting down on the couch. Jefferson pointed to a box full of assorted crap. Jim dug right in.

Jim found Hyde's little notebook. He checked the list of Authors Hyde had located. Sure enough, it read, "Nick Carraway of New York 92-B, now in Storybrooke." Jim really hoped Nick wasn't going to become a problem for him.

Next Jim found one of the remaining Storybooks. Jefferson looked over Jim’s shoulder. It was the Storybook belonging to a place called Wonderland. Jim was on a page about the slaying of a Jabberwock. “Hey, what’s that?” Jefferson said, directing to his attention to a paper rolled into a long tube. "Is that a map or something?"

Jim set the book aside. Sticking out of the box, Jim found not a map, but a strange schematic. It was for a portal generator, similar to the one installed in _The Nautilus_. The architect was none other than Dr. Adam Frankenstein. Beneath the schematic were several files, including multiple receipts for shipments Hyde requested. The name of the shipping company was extremely familiar.

“I moved this cargo,” Jim realized, putting the pieces together. Jefferson asked him to repeat himself. “I was the one who brought these parts to Hyde! Look! I worked for this company before I came here. These are my shipments. These documents have my signature on them." Dread set in. "Hyde was only able to come to Storybrooke because I got him the parts for his machine. This is my fault.”

Jefferson came over, stuffing a few torn pages of the Wonderland book into his pocket. "There is no way that Hyde coming to Storybrooke is your fault." Sensing that Jim was about to go into another one of his quasi-catatonic states, he pulled Jim up off the floor and fixed him some ice cream.

Jim lost his appetite though. Jefferson was about ready to try spoon-feeding it to him, when he gave up and took the bowl for himself. Hoping to take Jim's mind off things, they watched TV for a while together in Jefferson's room. There were new episodes of that cartoon Jefferson liked, the one with the alien gemstones.

"Don't tell Grace I'm watching it without her," Jefferson said. Jim promised not to. It was nice that Jefferson was so invested in Grace's life. Jim knew that it was the least a father could do, but Jim's own father couldn't handle the bare minimum.

Jim tried to pay attention to the show, but he couldn't. As he lied awake in bed later, Jim pieced the events together that led them here. He had been living at a port near Kingsbury. He got a job handling cargo. He met Dorian. Dorian connected him to Hyde at the asylum. Hyde placed Jim in charge of receiving and transporting large shipments of undisclosed goods.

Based on the schematic, Hyde and Frankenstein had used those goods to assemble a machine that would fly into the air and release copious amounts of dark fairy dust into the clouds. _The Albatross_ would then fly through those clouds to get to Storybrooke.

Ignoring all other factors that brought Hyde to Storybrooke to be usurped by the Queen, Jim reached his sad, foregone conclusion. What was he going to do to fix this? That was for his future self to worry about. He drifted off to the music of "This is all my fault."


	18. The Grave of the Master

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Hyde is dead and the Queen has everything she needs for her plan, it's race to unearth the one called the Master and stop their ominous blood moon ritual.
> 
> Meanwhile, Jim learns that he contributed to Hyde’s master plan and is hell-bent on making things right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is ending in a few chapters. The second half, “Jim Hawkins: A New Beginning” will begin after I go back through the first fic and edit for consistency.
> 
> “A New Beginning” promises to have even more backstory, intrigue, and new characters and worlds from the work of HP Lovecraft, Howl’s Moving Castle, and The Picture of Dorian Gray - not to mention a new and exciting twist on the Black Fairy. Returning characters include the Blue Fairy, Lancelot, and characters from the Wish Realm. Stay tuned!

_"A monster. Were they right? Has the dark in me finally come to light? Am I a monster full of rage, nowhere to go but on a rampage? Or am I just a monster in a cage?"_ \- "Monster", _Frozen_

* * *

 

Jim didn't think he could possibly feel worse waking up than he did yesterday, but he managed to surprise himself. He opened his eyes and felt like he was laying under a ton of bricks. The generator. Frankenstein. Hyde. The Queen. The ritual. All of it, every last bit was Jim's fault.

He should never have so much as gone to meet with Hyde, let alone bring him any shipments of anything. Now the Queen was calling on Count Dracula to enact some arcane ritual to do God-knows-what. Jim wanted to curl up under the covers and never come out, but he knew he couldn't do that.

Despite depression trying to keep him shackled to the bed, Jim forced himself to get up. Pulling himself into an upright position was like bearing a load of rocks on his back. He took a sip of water from the glass that had been sitting there since yesterday. Jim had the nastiest taste in his mouth. He couldn't recall when he last brushed his teeth. He felt disgusting, inside and out. Then he smelled something cooking down the hall.

Jim made himself halfway-presentable and went into the kitchen. Jefferson was awake, showered, and dressed, flipping flapjacks over the stove. His back was turned. Jim decided to just watch him work for a minute before announcing his presence. Jim's gaze drifted from Jefferson's neatly combed hair, down his waistcoat, to his perfectly fitting pants. " _Why’d I have to end up rooming with the cute guy?_ " Jim thought to himself. " _Not that I'm complaining."_

Before Jefferson could turn around, Jim tapped his knuckles on the wall. He didn't want him to catch him staring. Jefferson startled, but smiled when he saw Jim. "Morning," he said. He was wearing a fleur-de-lis patterned apron and holding a spatula.

"Morning," Jim replied, doing his best to sound somewhere adjacent to happy. "Something smells good."

Jefferson presented Jim with a plate stacked high with fresh pancakes. "I thought I'd actually make breakfast for once," Jefferson said. He carried the plate to the table, where two smaller plates were waiting for them. "Careful. They're hot."

Jim and Jefferson sat down to eat. The pancakes were great. Everything Jefferson made was delicious, but Jim still didn't have much of an appetite. As he picked at his food, Jefferson noticed something was wrong. "You okay?" he asked. "Sleep all right last night?"

"Yeah," Jim said halfheartedly. "I slept fine, mostly. It took me a while to get to there. I just kept thinking..." Jim wasn't sure he wanted to talk about it.

"What?" asked Jefferson, wiping syrup off his face. "What's the matter?"

Jim took another bite of pancakes and forced it down with some orange juice. "It's nothing."

"It doesn't sound like nothing," said Jefferson, concerned. He licked the syrup off his fingers, which distracted Jim and took his mind to a less than appropriate place.

"I just keep thinking about what we found out yesterday," Jim told him, remembering himself. "I can't shake the feeling that... You're gonna tell me I'm being ridiculous."

Jefferson took Jim's plate away. "I promise I'm not going to tell you you're being ridiculous," said Jefferson.

"I can't help feeling that this is all my fault," Jim said, feeling quite ridiculous as he said it. "This whole chain of events. Hyde coming to Storybrooke, meeting the Queen, and her hijacking his plan for something even worse. And before you say it, I know I'm not the only involved here. I didn't build the generator. I didn't steer the airship. I didn't give Hyde's formula to Regina."

"And..." Jefferson added, covering the leftover pancakes in plastic, "if you hadn't gotten all that stuff for Hyde, somebody else would have. You were just another pawn in his plan. We all were." Jefferson was fairly sure that he'd given a conclusive answer that would quell Jim's misplaced guilt.

Jim pondered Jefferson's words for a minute, then said, "I need you to take me to the Sheriff’s Department. They need my help."

Jefferson audibly groaned. "I thought you didn't want to get involved anymore," he said, just knowing this was taking an exhausting turn.

"That was before I knew what I did! I never knew I had been helping Hyde with all this," Jim told him fervently. "People are in danger - people have already died - and I'm partly to blame for that!"

Jefferson was not going to allow this catastrophizing to continue. "Jim, none of that is your fault. You didn't bring water back from the Underworld. You didn't crush the Invisible Man's heart. You didn't tell Hyde's assistant to put arsenic into a peroxide bottle or drop a knife in front of Jekyll. Okay? If anyone's to blame here, it's me."

Jim stood up and put his hands on his hips. "What did you do? Bring Hyde some lousy chemicals? It sounds like that amounted to a big fat nothing. Either way, you did your part to fix what you broke. Now I need to do the same thing. Can you please take me to the police station? If you won't, I'll just walk. I could use the exercise."

Jefferson muttered a few curse words under his breath and sighed. "Fine. I'll take you to meet up with the others," he said. "We need to take all of Hyde's crap over to them anyway so I can tell them we found nothing. Are you sure you're all right? Do you know what you're getting yourself into here?"

"No," said Jim. "But I'll find out when I get there."

Jim helped Jefferson load the boxes of books back into the trunk of his car. They got in and pulled out of the garage onto the street. Jefferson was about to shift the car into drive when a young girl, about fourteen, came up to the side of the vehicle. She waved to Jefferson. It was Grace.

Jefferson put the car in park and rolled down the window. "Morning, sweetie," Jefferson greeted her. "How's it going?" He was smiling, genuinely smiling. Jefferson had a lot of smiles, few of them sincere. Jim had to really work to get an honest smile out of him. Upon seeing Grace, Jefferson's face lit right up.

"I'm okay. Did you get my text message?" she asked, showing him her phone. Grace was absolutely adorable. She had blonde, messy hair and looked quite a bit like that sketch of her mother. She barely looked like Jefferson at all.

Jefferson checked his phone. Sure enough, he had a new message. "I'm sorry, Gracie. I had it on silent. Oh, Jim! This is my daughter, Grace. Grace, this is my new friend, Jim." Jim and Grace awkwardly smiled and waved to each other. They'd already seen each other before, but it was nice to properly meet. "Jim's from Ingary."

"I just wanted to tell you that Violet invited me to a party at her house tonight, so I won't be able to come over," said Grace guiltly, not particularly interested in her dad's social life. "I hope that's okay."

Jim could sense a little piece of Jefferson die inside. "Of course, it's okay. We can arrange a different day to visit. You go have fun with your friends. Are there going to be _boys_ at this party?"

"Just Henry, Hansel, and Liam," said Grace. "Don't worry. We're just going be watching movies and stuff."

"And stuff," Jefferson chuckled, not entirely trusting her. "Is Hank going to be there?"

Grace rolled her eyes. "Yes, Violet's dad will be there."

That seemed to satisfy Jefferson, but he still sounded a bit hurt. "Okay, have fun. Jim and I are going to visit Emma and Hook. We'll tell them you said hi." Jefferson smiled again. This time wasn't quite as elated. Grace reached through the window to give her father a hug and they said their goodbyes.

Jefferson watched sadly as Grace ran back into the Masons’ house. A woman, presumably Mrs. Mason, was standing at the door. She held it open for Grace. Jefferson waved to her, faking pleasance and she faked pleasance right back. Jefferson was still smiling, but Jim could practically smell his blood boiling. Mrs. Mason went back inside. As Jefferson rolled his window back up, he called her a very nasty name. He put the car in drive and they were off.

Jim looked over at Jefferson. He was oddly tense, gripping the wheel tightly and clenching his jaw. Jim needed to break the silence somehow. "She seems like a really nice kid," Jim said.

"She is, in spite of my influence," Jefferson replied unhappily. He sighed. "I was going to make her favorite dinner, help her with this essay she has to write. I recorded her favorite show. I know it's normal for kids her age to spend more time with their friends than with their parents. But I hardly get to see her as it is. And I know the Masons aren't going to let me reschedule. Now I'll have to wait _another_ week to see her."

"I'm sorry," said Jim. "If it's any consolation, I really admire everything you're doing for her. My dad left when I was pretty young. I never knew what it was like have a father who actually wanted to be one. That has to mean a lot to her."

Jefferson considered that. "There's a lot Grace doesn't know, things I hope she never finds out. You wanted to know about me and David, right?" Jim nodded, although now he wasn't so sure. "During the curse, Regina and I were the only ones with our old memories. I knew that when Henry brought Snow and David's kid to Storybrooke, she would be the one to finally break the curse. She was supposed to have magic, something Storybrooke didn't have then. Emma wouldn't believe though, no matter how hard Henry tried to make her see the truth. I could see that my one hope at getting Grace back was fading, so I did something desperate."

Jim hung on his every word. Jefferson took a deep breath and continued, "I kidnapped Snow to lure Emma to my house. I drugged her and, at gunpoint, I forced her to make a magic hat that would take me and Grace back to the Enchanted Forest. I didn't want to do it, but she was my one chance. I couldn't convince her, so I had to force her. In the end, the hat didn't work and Emma and Snow escaped. I didn't _want_ to hurt them!" Jefferson started to sniffle. "I just wanted my daughter back. After Emma and Henry broke the curse, she and Snow eventually forgave me. They understood why I did it, even if it was a fucked up thing to do. When David found out though, he was ready to kill me. And I don't blame him. If someone had done that to Grace, they wouldn't live to tell the tale."

Jefferson looked at Jim, waiting for some kind of reaction. Jim wasn't sure how he felt. That was extreme. Granted, Jefferson had been placed into extreme circumstances. Looking back on his own life, Jim had done his fair share of drastic things for the people he cared about. At seventeen, he shot a man dead for threatening Killian on Treasure Island. Then when Silver threatened him, he dove directly between them, prepared to take his bullet. That's not even mentioning seventy-something years of hunting Killian's killer, the most drastic and pointless measure Jim had ever taken. What right had he to judge Jefferson?

"I don't look down on you for that," Jim said kindly. "I don't have a kid, but if I were in your shoes, I can't say I'd do anything different."

"You see what I mean, about all that time fucking my head up?" Jefferson asked, really trying hard to keep himself together. "What I did was crazy. I can't even say the Masons are wrong to want to keep Grace away from me. I'm a bad father and a basket case."

That was too far. "Jeff, you and I both know that's not true. Trust me. I know bad fathers. My dad got my mother pregnant at nineteen, saddled her with all his debt, then jumped ship when he started getting bored with us. He didn't want to be a father or a husband. He wanted to be a _pirate_ , 'cause that sounded like  _fun._ "

"I take it that was the start of your pirate hunting career," Jefferson jested, dabbing at his eyes.

"Not quite," said Jim. "The point is, you're beating yourself up over nothing. Regina did this to you. You're dealing with shit that I don't think any other father in history has dealt with. You're doing the best you can."

Jefferson appreciated the sentiment, but it didn’t make him feel much better. "It’s not enough though," Jefferson said, pulling into the station parking lot. "It's never enough.”

When they got to the station, the front door was locked. Rather than call or text them, Jim just pounded on the glass, assuming Happy would hear him and let them in. To Jim’s dismay, Killian answered the door instead.

“Jim, what are you doing here?” Killian asked, surprised to see him again. “I thought you were leaving.”

"Yeah, well, no such luck. I'm helping Jefferson with the rest of Hyde's shit," said Jim glibly. He held out a box. "Mind giving us a hand?"

Killian took the box. "Well, you know I've only got one hand to give," he said, trying to be funny. He held the door open for Jim and Jefferson. "Hey, mate," he said to Jefferson. "Regardless of what brought you, I'm really happy to... " Jim breezed right past him. "...see you."

Jim passed by Miss Poole in her jail cell. She sneered at him and he stuck out his tongue. Inside in the boardroom, the gigantic man they had arrested in the cemetery was sitting at the table. Jim recalled Killian's text from before. He'd been too distraught to really care about the contents. The man’s name was Adam Frankenstein. Victor's brother? Cousin, perhaps?

Then it dawned on him. Jim circled the man, getting a good look. His skin was waxy. His hair had fallen out in clumps. Surgical scars were visible across his head, neck, and forearms. “You’re the Monster,” Jim said, suddenly terrified. His features were a lot like Victor's though. It was uncanny.

Jefferson set his box on the table and came around to look. "Gerhardt," Jefferson said, taken aback. "You’re Victor's brother, right? He’s, uh, told me a lot about you."

“I'm not his brother and I am _not_ his monster. I prefer ‘Doctor,’” the man corrected, more annoyed than anything. "Dr. Adam Frankenstein. Do I know you?"

Jim was so used to seeing him referred to as ‘the Monster’, he never stopped to think how offensive that moniker would be to an actual person. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. I was there at the cemetery when you were arrested. Um... You have a lovely singing voice."

Adam groaned. "I meant before that. Haven't I seen you at the asylum in Ingary?" he asked. Jim didn't expect the secret to get out that quickly, but it might as well.

"Yeah, about that... There's something I should probably tell you all. Emma and K-  _Hook_ already know, sort of. Before I came here, I got a job handling shipments in Kingsbury. Some of those shipments were for Hyde. Back at the mansion, we came across some files. Turns out, the items Hyde wanted were for a portal generator. It’s my fault that Hyde came to Storybrooke. That’s why I’m here. I'm not just helping Jefferson drop off Hyde's stuff. I want to help you fix this.”

Everyone was stunned. No one blamed him, but they were happy to have the help. Adam turned to face the rest of them.

"I might as well come clean as well. I was the one who designed and constructed the machine. Bringing Hyde here was my doing and, while I'm sorry for the damage it's done to your town, I wouldn't do anything differently. I needed him to bring me here."

"To see Victor?" asked Jefferson, a little uneasy. “Where is he, by the way?”

"Actually, no," Adam answered, surprising them all. "That brings me to our next point of conversation. If I'm going to help you locate the De Villes and stop their Master’s ritual, I'll need something from you in return." He was specifically looking at Regina.

"Let me guess," said Regina. "You want us to untether you from your Storybook just like Erik. Good fucking luck.”

"I have no interest in that. I let Hyde operate under that impression, but that isn't why I came," said Adam.

"So why did you come?" asked Emma. “Why go to all the trouble?”

Adam rose from his seat. He motioned that Jim should feel free to take it. Jim sat down and listened as Adam began his tale. Jefferson just leaned against the wall, irritated that he'd have to sit through another exhausting backstory.

"I had chased Victor across the realms seeking revenge for what he did to me. He eluded me and fled to Misthaven, your ‘Enchanted Forest.’ As I was on my way to find him, he vanished along with everyone else in the kingdom. I wandered the empty villages in search of clues. Something drew me to your family's castle. Within it, I found a vault of glowing hearts, still beating even though their owners were long dead.”

Regina was unsurprised. “They didn’t call Mom the Queen of Hearts for nothing,” she commented.

The Queen of Hearts. The card Jefferson had defaced that had upset him so much. Had he been ranting about Regina’s mother? Jim glanced at Jefferson. He looked like he'd seen a ghost. He took out his pocket square and started dabbing his face, like he'd begun to sweat. Jim took that as a yes.

Frankenstein continued. "When Victor made me from the remains of his brother Gerhardt, he placed in me an enchanted heart given to him by the Dark One. I have his brother's brain and his memories, but my spirit is that of another."

"I know," said Jefferson. "I helped him get that heart. Regina knows."

Regina avoided their eyes. It wasn't out of shame this time. It was just a memory she didn't want to relive.

"My heart once belonged to a prince. I learned that at the Dark One's castle. I knew it when the name I gave myself, Adam, turned out to be his as well. The heart remembered. The Dark One stole the prince's home and ripped his heart from his chest. All my life, I’d look into the mirror and see a face and body that weren’t mine. I never knew why until then. I thought it was just my ugliness, but it was never _my_ ugliness to begin with.

"I destroyed the hearts that your mother collected, finally bringing peace to their souls. That's when I found my new purpose - to hunt down every last stolen heart and set them free. My journey took me to Wonderland. I was able to reunite so many people with their hearts. Some of their owners had died and those hearts I destroyed. I knew my mission would eventually bring me here, so I made a deal with Hyde in Ingary. I'd make him his portal if he let me come along for the ride."

Jefferson flinched when Adam said "Wonderland." That was the same world that was in one of the Storybooks. Jim fished around in the box and pulled the book out. Jefferson's eyes got very wide when he caught Jim flipping through the book.

Regina got the picture. "So you want the hearts. Is that it?" she asked. "Fine. You can have them. Crush them. Burn them. Stab them with a sword. I don’t care. I certainly don't need them anymore."

"Wonderful,” said Adam, smiling. His teeth were all a sickening shade of yellow. “I'm glad you see things my way. When I spoke to the Lord of the Dead, his lovely wife told me about all of the souls that were able to move on because of what I'd done - and the terrible agony they were in before."

"Hades and Persephone? When did you talk to them?" asked Regina suspiciously, leaning over the table.

"When I handed Victor over to them in exchange for the Shears of Fate," Adam revealed casually, shocking them all. "Don't tell me you're surprised. I saw the missing person's report. Who else would have done it?"

Jim was aghast, much like the rest of them. "You killed him? In the book, you just left him to die!”

Jefferson was shell-shocked. "You gave my best friend to Hades? I know he probably had it coming, but come on!" Jefferson’s mouth curled into a snarl.

"My Author - not Ms. Shelley, but my biographer - described my predestined actions as 'delivering him to death's door.' I believe I found a convenient loophole in their words. Victor is alive, for now. Hades may be willing to part with him, but that’s not my concern. My sole aim is to free the remaining hearts in your crypt,” Adam told Regina.

This development regarding Victor added a new dimension to their problem. Obviously, they had to bring him back, but how? Now Victor’s very life was weighing on Jim’s conscience. Jefferson was pacing in the corner, furious.

Killian spoke up. “What the hell would Hades want with Victor anyway?”

”He did the impossible. He brought the dead back to life,” Adam said, gesturing to his own body. “Naturally, the Lord of the Underworld has questions.”

"We better be able to bring him back," Jefferson demanded. "I will not let his last memory of me be me breaking into his home and robbing him."

Frankenstein had no pity for him. "Bad decisions on your part are not a cause for concern on mine." Jefferson glared at him. Killian moved over to him in anticipation of keeping Jefferson from attacking the Monster. Jim hoped Jefferson wouldn’t be that stupid.

”I think we’ll have to worry about Victor later,” said Regina, trying to keep the peace. “The Queen is planning on digging up Dracula somewhere in the forest and using him to enact some kind of blood moon ritual. What do you know about that?”

”Ah, yes, the Master,” said Frankenstein. “Hyde was seeking a being of powerful dark magic in another realm. The machine I built used her kind of magic to create the portal to Storybrooke. I believe the ritual is intended to open another portal to her domain with the intent to bring her here. Although with Hyde gone, I’m not sure why they’d proceed.”

Jim piped up. He heard quite a bit while the Queen set Jekyll and Hyde up to kill each other. “The Queen thinks this, uh, dark fairy person can help her.”

”Lancelot once told me about a creature like that. I think he called her the Black Fairy,” said David. “I always thought she was just a myth, like a ghost story.”

”Dad, we’re getting a Ted Talk from Frankenstein,” Emma told him. “If someone came in here with a lightning bolt on his face and told us he was Harry fucking Potter, I’d believe him.”

David was shamed into silence. Regina asked another question. “And what exactly does she need help with?”

“I don’t know. I don’t really know what she wants,” Jim said.

”She’d been working with Hyde on his formula. She helped him get the Shears,” David recounted.

”While she was killing them, she said something about her fixing the problem with Hyde’s serum,” Jim recalled.

”What was the problem?” asked Killian.

Adam spoke up again. “Hyde told me. He hypothesized about it in Ingary, but he didn't have confirmation until Regina tried to kill the Queen. Hyde couldn't be killed while Jekyll still lived and if Jekyll died, Hyde would die with him.”

Regina had a moment of realization. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? She wants to kill me. And once she’s killed me, she’ll move on to the rest of you. It’s what I’d do in her shoes.”

Resolutely, Regina stood to her feet. “We don’t have time for this. How do we find Dracula? We have nothing to go on. The De Villes could be anywhere and- Wait a second. _De Vil?_ ”

Before long, they all drove down to the Three Wishes Thrift Store. When Emma had blown Cruella de Vil off a cliff to her doom, Cruella’s worldly possessions got donated to charity. They needed something, anything of hers that could be charmed to track down her relatives. Jefferson went back home, so Jim got a ride with David and the Monster, which was a very uncomfortable experience.

A black-haired man in a fez came out of the back to meet them. His nametag read "Ali,” but Emma identified him as Aladdin. He had a very charming smile, but it seemed a bit rehearsed. Customer service did that to a person, Jim knew quite well.

Jim didn't see why they all needed to be present. The rest of them could easily have waited back at the station. Adam, Killian, and David were just milling about. Killian was perusing leather jackets. David was comparing the cost of some khakis. Adam and Jim both examined what seemed to be a bookcase, only to find it contained cases of strange shiny discs called DVDs.

“Hey Al,” said Emma sociably. “How’s it going?”

Aladdin shrugged. “Same old, same old. How can I help you today?”

Regina cut in. “We’re looking for something that used to belong to Cruella de Vil. Remember her?”

Aladdin shivered. “How could I forget? Didn’t she die about a year or so ago?”

”I understand if you already sold her things,” said Regina. “Do you know who might have bought them?” Aladdin went to the back to check.

Jim, already bored, approached Killian in the clothing section as casually as he could. "I see you never lost your taste in coats," said Jim quietly, trying to be nice. "You stole my look, you know."

Killian put back a shiny black jacket he'd been considering. "What do you mean, I stole your look?"

"The earrings, the eyeliner, the oversized jackets. You weren't wearing all that until you met me," Jim reminded him.

Killian looked over his shoulder. No one was listening. "If you recall, before I met you, I was practically wearing rags."

Jim remembered. Killian didn't even have shoes until after their trip to Treasure Island. The mutiny against Captain Flint left the Jones brothers with little more than their freedom.

"When did you decide this was going to be your century-spanning aesthetic?" Jim teased.

Killian was reluctant to say. "When you told me how good I looked in your jacket," he confessed, feeling foolish. There was a warm, nostalgic tone to his voice. Jim honestly wasn't expecting that, or the shy smile that followed.

They moved on to the jewelry case nearby. Most of it was pretty gaudy, but one pair of black, dangly earrings caught Jim's attention. "Doesn't that look like our pair?" he asked, pointing to the box on the top shelf.

"Aye, it does," said Killian, getting a close look. "I still can't believe I let you pierce my ear."

"I can't believe how much you screamed. I'm surprised you still wear it," Jim said, leaning against the glass. "Your earring. I quit wearing mine. I made it into a chain around my neck. I know you don't love me like you used to. I understand that. Maybe one day I'll even accept it. Why wear the earring then, especially with her?"

Killian fiddled with the earring hanging from his right ear. "Sentiment, I suppose?" he said timidly. "It reminded me of you. As I said at the church, I still do love you, Jim, just not in that way."

"Please don't say that," Jim begged him. "I can't hear that right now. You cannot give me any more false hope, not while you're basically wearing our wedding band on your ear."

"Is that really how you see it?" asked Killian, going to remove the jewelry. "I can take it off if you want."

Jim sighed. "It wasn't just a birthday present, Killy. You're the one who suggested the matelotage. But I guess that only counts when we're at sea."

Killian screwed up his face. "Can you please just call me Hook like everybody else?"

"I don't know Hook," Jim told him. "To me, Captain Hook is just some man who took the love of my life away. I think he still is."

That stung. Jim sure knew how to cut to the quick. "You’re not still hoping I'll leave Emma and sail away with you, are you?" Killian asked, trying not to sound belittling.

Jim turned away. "It's all I have. Killian, I don't know what I'm living for if not for you," Jim confessed. "I've been hanging on helping Nadir, helping Jefferson, helping all of you stop Hyde and the Queen. Keeping my promises, fixing my mistakes... The second that goes away, I don't know what I'm going to do with myself."

Jim did know though, and it would involve him flying headlong off a bridge. He’d never burden Killian with that kind of information. Thinking on it now, Jim realized how deeply that would scar the people he met in Storybrooke. He saw Jefferson’s terrified face, how he took every measure to make sure Jim was safe. _“How cruel,”_ Jim thought. _“Tricking people into caring about you.”_

"You'll find something," said Killian sympathetically, having nothing more helpful to say. "It hurts me seeing you like this, really it does."

That really didn't do much to cheer Jim up. It was real easy for Killian to talk about him finding something new. That’s what he thought when he left Jim, but it never was that easy. 

"I should tell you something. You know Nick, the Author?" Jim asked. Killian nodded. "I met him before, a long time ago. I told him about you. I think it was before he became the Author for the Enchanted Forest. I don't remember everything I said, but it was a fair amount. Maybe he forgot. I also told that Ariel girl, but she's not telling anyone."

"What the hell were you thinking?" Killian whispered tersely. "Nick I understand, but Ariel?"

"I was thinking that I was losing my mind under Erik's curse and mute girls tell no tales," Jim retorted. "I had a song in my heart, all right? I could either sing it in front of her or sing it in front of Emma."

Killian tried his best to stay calm. "It’s fine. It's not your fault. That spell had us saying all sorts of things we shouldn't." Like “shut up”, for example. "Even so, she isn't mute anymore."

"She's not? What happened?" asked Jim. He assumed that was a permanent condition.

"She told us everything," Killian explained. "The Queen put some old pages back into the Storybook, pages that described Ariel killing Prince Eric and Cinderella. Then she stole her voice, just like Ursula did. The book forced her to go after them. It hurt her if she didn't. The Queen used her voice an ingredient in her singing curse. We were able to get it back for her when Erik broke the spell. She can speak again, but she's still in pain."

Jim had a realization. "So that's what the Queen meant. She said Jekyll was 'aching' to kill Hyde. It hurts you if you don't follow through on it. Ariel's nurse took her to the shoreline. That's where I met her. He said the water made it hurt less."

"That's probably just a mermaid thing," said Killian. "So I guess that makes two people we need to have a chat with."

"She promised not to tell anyone," said Jim, coming to Ariel's defense. "Nick, on the other hand... I can’t imagine he cares but, if pressed, I don't think he'd have qualms about ratting you out."

Killian cocked an eyebrow. "Ratting _me_ out? What do you mean, _me_?" he asked.

"I told you. People here are fine with guys like us. Gay- Well, I guess you'd be bisexual here or something...” said Jim, recalling the article he read at the hospital. “The point is that I don't have anything I need to hide. I don't really care what people know about me here. I'm only being tight-lipped for your sake. I really wish I didn't have to."

Killian had too much on his mind already. His head was starting to hurt. "I don't want to think about all this right now. There's already too much going on we need to worry about. Once we stop the ritual, then we can deal with the Author. How do you know him, anyway?"

"About, I don't know, maybe sixty-five years ago, I was trying to make my way to Neverland through the Dreamlands. You know, _to kill you_ ,” Jim told him. “You’d already evaded me several times by then. We were sailing from Arkham through the Twilight Sea on route to Celephais.

“He was going there to do some Authoring. He asked me why I was there. After a few drinks, I told him. And after a few more drinks... That's not important. What’s important is that he still remembers me and he might still remember what I said about you."

Killian bent over the jewelry case and thought. “Well, he's got to be curious why you haven't slaughtered me by now," said Killian. "I don't know how much he knows about me otherwise. I'm only in his book as someone named Prince Charles. It's a long story."

"About that. The Queen showed me a book that had us in it, when we were younger. A lot younger," Jim informed him. "Is that the same book?"

Killian shook his head. "Porthaven must have had its own Author. You're not in our book. What exactly did it say?"

"Of course I'm not," Jim said, not sure why he was so disappointed. At least, someone out there thought their love was worth writing down. “I didn't get a chance to read it. I only saw the pictures. It was enough to be incriminating. So Nick knew this Cruella person?”

Killian nodded, still preoccupied with their Storybook. “They were from the same world. She was what they call a serial killer and he took away her favorite hobby. And now Cruella’s part vampire, apparently. That sure explains a lot.”

Jim and Killian made their way back to the counter where Aladdin was combing through paperwork. Regina was tapping her foot in impatience. Emma picked at her fingernails. Adam and David had already rejoined them, having grown bored with browsing.

”Let’s see... Cruella’s donations. Here they are!" said Aladdin, finding the right page. "Donated from the mortuary, seems like nobody wanted her stuff. We only keep a record of the most valuable items sold here. Most of her clothes and personal effects won't be listed. That just leaves... her jewelry and her furs.”

Emma tried to read the record upside down. “Who bought the jewelry?” she asked.

Regina adjusted her blazer and tucked her hair behind her ear. “That would be me," she said, revealing some lovely Art Deco earrings. Emma shot her a look. "What? The bitch had good taste. Of course, I went and scrubbed every last trace of her off of them.”

”Okay, who bought the fur?” asked Emma.

Aladdin squinted, trying to read his own scribblings. “Cruella's mink coat was purchased by someone named Agatha Lucas.”

Jim didn't know any Agatha Lucas. Based on the name, he presumed she was old. The rest of them, surprised, spat out "Granny?” in chorus.

”So what?” said Granny, back at the diner. “A lady likes nice things. I haven’t gotten to wear fur in over fifty years.” Jim wasn't quite sure why Ruby was snickering at that.

While the others explained the situation to Granny, Ruby and Dorothy lured Jim over to an empty booth. Jim followed and sat down. "So?" Ruby began curiously. "How did it go?" She and Dorothy both had such expectant, gleeful looks on their faces.

"How did what go?" Jim asked, forgetting completely about the prior day.

Ruby pushed his arm playfully. "You know, the thing with what's-his-name! What happened? Last time we saw you, you were dancing down the street to go talk to him."

Killian, growing a little weary of the deliberations on how to track the vampires, turned his ear to Jim and the girls. They didn't notice him listening in.

"Oh, him. Uh..." Jim trailed off. He could be honest and say the man in question broke his heart and spun him into a suicidal depression. Instead, he lied. "I got a little sidetracked yesterday. We had to go arrest Adam here in the graveyard. Then we found Erik in the church again. By then, night had fallen and it just wasn't a good time."

Ruby frowned. "So are you going to talk to him soon? Who is he?" Killian's eyes widened. Just how many people had Jim told?

"I don't think I should say. I don't think people around here know that he's... you know..." Jim let his wrist go limp.

"Gay?" Ruby finished for him.

"No, one of the other words," Jim corrected. "I don't think I should be the one to tell people."

Ruby made a noise of disappointment. "I understand. So how did you meet him? Dorothy and I told you our story. We turned it into a whole damn country-western ballad."

“Which was lovely, by the way.” Jim scratched his neck. He guessed it wouldn't hurt to give away a few details. "We met on a voyage together when we were seventeen. We went to school together. No one knew we were a couple. One day, he sailed away and never came back."

"Oh no, what happened?" Dorothy asked, petting a old black dog in her lap. He growled at the Monster. “Toto, be nice!”

Jim quickly pieced together a cut and dry end to the story. "He had sailed to the Enchanted Forest just in time to get swept up in the curse. Zelena's curse, that is. I never knew what happened. I thought he was dead."

Dorothy got very cross at the mention of Zelena, more so than anyone else he’d met. Toto started growling again, but this time she didn’t stop him. What did Zelena do to her?

"So you already know he loves you?" said Ruby, ignoring them. "That's great! You must be so happy to finally be reunited after all these years."

"It's not that simple. He's with someone else," Jim said regretfully. "I'm so pathetic. Three times I asked him to come back to me - _twice_ in song - and every time he told me that he's happy with this other woman. I hoped that maybe he was just afraid, but he loves her and there's nothing I can do."

Killian crossed his arms and acted like he hadn’t heard. He hurt Jim so badly. Killian tried to make things right, he really did, but they might never be right. He might have done permanent damage to someone he claimed to have loved. He’d have to live with that guilt forever.

Ruby grabbed Jim’s hand. "Jim, I am so sorry. You'll meet somebody else, I promise. Where you grew up, did they not like people like us?"

Jim shook his head. "Bad things happened to guys like us. I don't even know what happened to women. People didn't talk about it. What about you?"

"The Enchanted Forest was a little bit nicer," said Ruby. "This world's even better! It's not perfect. Bad things still happen sometimes, but it's miles ahead of what you must have known when you were younger."

She had that right. "I nearly fell over when you told Darius that you were dating a girl. I would never have said something like that in public," Jim said, letting out a laugh. "I don't know what got into Darius yesterday. Well, magic I suppose."

Ruby just shrugged. "Boys will be boys, I guess. Well, not boys like you, of course." She smiled and Jim attempted to do the same.

"I barely remember being his age. My friends had just started noticing girls. I... didn't. It wasn't until I met _him_ that I found out why," Jim recounted to her. "He changed my life. Now being around him just hurts so much. I never thought he would ever make me hurt this badly."

Killian hugged his arms tightly to his body. He had asked himself the question several times before, but he asked it again. Looking at the back of Jim's pony-tailed head, Killian thought, _“You bloody bastard, what have you done?"_ He started to ache too.

"You know, you were really young when you were with him. I imagine it would have been hard finding someone else in your circumstances," Ruby said understandingly. "At that age though, most relationships tend not to last. Mine didn't."

"Why? What happened?" Jim asked, not seeing the encouragement in her words.

Ruby bit her lip as she chose her words carefully. "I may have, accidentally, turned into a wolf and eaten him," Ruby confessed. Dorothy was shocked. "I didn't know I was a werewolf yet! It was a hell of a way to find out. But life goes on and we get new chances." Ruby squeezed Dorothy's hand, which calmed her down. "If love is something you want, it's out there."

Jim looked at the two of them, both so happy together. It didn't seem possible. "I don't know, Ruby. I don't think I'll ever find a guy like him again," Jim lamented, sad and a little disturbed by her story. "I know we were young and I didn't get the opportunity to date around like most guys do. Still, this guy... he was once in a lifetime. I don't know if anyone could ever make me feel the way he did."

If Jim had already plunged a knife into Killian's heart, this was when he twisted it. It was even worse when Emma called Ruby's name and Jim turned to see what was going on. His eyes were red and puffy. Killian couldn't bear how much he was making Jim cry.

 _"How was I so stupid?"_ Killian thought. _"Why did I assume he'd just move on without me? Why didn't I tell him what had happened? I was ashamed. I didn't want Jim knowing I'd become some dirty pirate like Silver or his father. Just like I don't want Emma knowing I'm some... whatever they call blokes like me. I am such a bloody coward."_ He quit listening.

Ruby reached over and grabbed Jim's hand again. "You're right. You are never going to feel the same way again," she said. Jim was stunned. Wasn't she supposed to be helping him? "The truth is, every person you love is going to make you feel different. But just because it isn't the same, doesn't mean isn't real. Dorothy doesn't make me feel the exact same way Peter did, but the way I feel when I'm with her is wonderful in a way I never even imagined."

"You mean it?" Dorothy asked, wiping a stray tear from her eye.

"I mean it," said Ruby. "I never saw you coming, but now I can't imagine life without you."

They kissed. It was sweet, but it also made Jim feel very single. The moment was ruined by Emma summoning Ruby over to the main group. Apparently, her tracking skills were needed yet again.

Emma presented Granny's fur coat to Ruby. "Do you think you can pick out the scent?" Emma asked. "I don't imagine you know what vampires smell like."

Ruby was apprehensive. "I won't have to sniff around in a sewer again, will I?" she asked, turning up her nose. Emma told her no. Ruby inhaled the scent of one of the sleeves. "Well, I'm definitely smelling the mink. Some of Cruella's perfume..." She took another sniff. "That's weird. I'm smelling... werewolves."

"You're sure that's not just me?" Granny asked.

"No, it's not you, Granny. It’s really odd. It's not quite a werewolf smell. It's almost like a werewolf had died or something," Ruby described, grimacing. "I've never smelled anything quite like that before.”

The bell rang. They all looked. “I think I might know the reason for that," came Mr. Gold's voice. The bell chimed again as the door shut behind him. He was carrying his heavy vampire book.

"Dark One!" Adam seethed, recognizing the man who plucked his heart from its original body.

"Ex-Dark One, and do I know you?" asked Gold, trying to place Adam's face. He wasn’t the slightest bit intimidated by the Monster’s rage.

Killian held Adam back. "If I can learn to live with him, so can you," Killian told the Monster. Adam backed off, but he stared daggers at Gold for the rest of the meeting.

Gold had been summoned by Regina to give them all another crash course in vampire lore. He laid his copy of _Vordenburg's Guide to the Vampire_ on the counter where they could see. He flipped it open to a page about related creatures, namely werewolves.

“It seems that vampires and werewolves have more in common than you might think," Gold began. "The curses, viruses, whatever you want to call them - they both began in the same dark realm, a ghostly echo of the material world where monsters are born. Your unique strain of lycanthropy came to the Enchanted Forest from there, as did the vampirism running rampant in Transylvania and Styria."

"So what you're saying is, vampires and werewolves smell the same because we're both from the same monster gene pool?" Ruby asked. She laughed it off. "Well, that's news to me. Granny?"

Granny threw her arms up. "Your grandfather didn't tell me his first big secret. I don't know why he'd tell me this one."

"Ew, does this mean _we're_ related to Cruella?" Ruby asked, crinkling her nose.

Gold said, "Only in the same way that a human is related to a monkey. Miss de Vil wasn't a vampire, but their blood still ran in her veins. At least, that's what I've gathered. Anything else you need assistance with or can I go home?”

Regina spoke up. "Yeah, how about the reason I called you here in the first place."

Gold forced a smile. “Oh right, the blood moon ritual.” Gold flipped back some pages. “Let's see... Accessing the realm that birthed the vampire is next to impossible. However, on the night of a blood moon - that is, a full moon during a total lunar eclipse - a sufficiently trained vampire can open a portal back to the Dark Realm for as long as the blood moon lasts.”

Everyone was on the edge of their seat. This case had just taken an epic, harrowing turn. “How?” Regina asked, sucked in by the gravity of the situation.

Mr. Gold flipped through the guide. “The book... doesn’t say,” said Mr. Gold flippantly, before shutting the volume with a snap.

"Well, that's just great!" Regina complained, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

Emma had some words for her. "Hey, if we stop them in time, it doesn't matter how Dracula's going to perform the ritual. When even is the next lunar eclipse?"

Killian pulled out his phone. Within seconds he had the answer. "This week," he said dryly. "What are the chances?"

Emma pulled at her hair in frustration. "Motherf-!" she shouted, in sheer disbelief at the impossible timing. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"I've gotta hand it to them. They timed their journey here perfectly," said David, leaning on the wall in the corner.

"Yeah, perfect timing to give the Queen everything she needs to destroy us," Regina added sourly. "I wonder... Is there any way we could get Dracula to call it off? Hyde's gone. Their team is in pieces. If we get to him first, maybe we can reason with him."

Even Jim knew that idea was half-baked at best. "Reason with him? The guy attempted global vampire domination and he did it in the dumbest way possible. He's just evil enough and just stupid enough to fall in line with the Queen."

"As Victor liked to point out before his mysterious disappearance, there are plenty of ways you can stop a vampire," said Gold, implying more extreme measures. "I'd leave the book with you, but I doubt any of you can read early Alemannic. I've compared this text to Mr. Stoker's novel and, as far as hunting is concerned, the text ought to be a fairly accurate guide."

With that, Gold left the diner. Everyone resigned themselves, some more quickly than others, to the fact that capturing and killing Dracula would be a more reliable strategy than diplomacy. For once, Jim was entirely on board.

"Let's do it," he said, trying not to sound too eager. "Let's find him and stake the bastard. The guy is a monster in every sense of the word." He looked over at Adam, who was scowling. "No offense. You saw what his three friends did to Nadir!"

"You rang?" said Nadir. Everyone turned to look. There he was, standing in the hallway separating the diner from the inn. He turned to Granny. "Is dinner being served yet? I'll have my usual." Granny got right on that.

Nadir walked over to his usual booth, followed by Darius. Darius quickly turned around when he caught sight of Ruby. He must be terribly embarrassed.

Nadir sat down and audibly exhaled, seemingly very tired. "Don't mind me. Please continue," he said passive-aggressively. "Are you finally going to dispose of those creatures who attacked me, or are you going to release them into the wild like you did with Svengali?"

"We didn't release him, Mr. Khan," Regina corrected. "We have him being monitored at a safe house nearby in Innsmouth. He's not going anywhere."

"Whatever you say," Nadir said. "No doubt I'll be hunting him down again in no time, if I ever finishing recovering."

Regina huffed. Jim thought it would be good to pivot the conversation to something more constructive. "We are going after the vampires," Jim told him, sitting down opposite him in the booth. "What can you tell us about them? What did you see when they attacked you?"

"I had returned to the airship after another fruitless night of scouting," Nadir recounted. "I entered and, as I walked in, I saw a pair of eyes in the shadows. I called out and out stepped a woman. I should have run or hid my face, but I didn't. I couldn't look away from her. She was inhumanly beautiful. I walked toward her and reason left me, like the world outside the cabin just disappeared. She came closer. She introduced herself. I believe she said her name was Verona de..."

"De Ville?" Emma asked, listening in.

Nadir nodded. "Yes. That was it. She said some flirtatious nonsense that was meant to distract me. She put her hands on my shoulders like she was going to kiss me. Strangely, I didn't care. I closed my eyes and the next thing I knew, she was biting down on the side of my neck. I was immobile. I couldn't defend myself at all. Another one appeared and bit into my wrist. One I didn't see bit into my shoulder from behind. I fell to my knees, then everything went black. Next thing I remember, I woke up in the hospital to the smell of garlic."

"That sounds an awful lot like sirens," Killian remarked. "It looks like the men here will have to be very careful on this little adventure."

Jim looked to Ruby and Dorothy. " _Most_ men. Sirens don’t have an effect on me. I doubt vampires will either.”

”If that’s true, then I’m glad you’re on the team,” said David. “I think I should go wake up Snow again. She’d probably be more useful now than I would.”

"Some of us girls might have to watch out too," Dorothy said with a knowing smile. Ruby gave her a nudge with her elbow. "If Ruby's going, I'm tagging along too. Somebody's gotta guard her. We can't risk a vampire-werewolf running around." Ruby pretended to look offended. "I'm just kidding."

"All right," said Emma, focusing their attention. "Why don't we all have dinner? Then we can regroup and... Wait, when's the best time to hunt vampires? Daytime or nighttime?"

Emma ran across the street to Gold’s shop to get the answer. Apparently, just before dawn was the ideal time. Emma, David, and Killian left to wake Snow. Regina decided to take Adam to her vault to start collecting the hearts. Jim decided to stay. He was going to get a good night’s sleep and collect the rest of his things to bring to Jefferson’s. He texted Jefferson, just so he wouldn’t worry.

 

 **James Hawkins**  

Hey, we’re going to be hunting vampires tomorrow morning. I’m going to stay the night at Granny’s. Are you OK?

 

**Jefferson Carter**

Well, that escalated quickly.

I'm fine. I made dinner for us, but I guess I can save it for tomorrow.

 

**James Hawkins**

Sorry. I'm sure it's delicious.

 

**Jefferson Carter**

Good luck with the vampire hunting.

Are you sure you know what you’re doing?

 

**James Hawkins**

No. All I know is that I have to do it.

 

**Jefferson Carter**

Okay. Be safe.

Let me know if I should pick up more garlic.

 

Jim laughed. "Jackass." After Jim ate, he gathered the rest of his things into a cardboard box Granny had lying around. He showered and shaved. Still feeling pretty dismal, he set his alarm for the wee hours of the morning and went to sleep. He slept a little better knowing he was being part of the solution to this mess.

His alarm went off in the early morning, disrupting a strange dream he'd been having. He was sailing with Killian aboard _The_ _Jolly Roger._ Both of them were their current ages, sailing away from Storybrooke into the open ocean. Jim leaned into kiss him and, when he pulled back, Killian had somehow turned into Jefferson. Jefferson and Jim carried on together as if nothing had changed, as if they were one seamless individual. Jim was still happy. It was bizarre.

When Jim opened his eyes, the sky was still black outside. He wanted to stay in bed, but he had a job to do. Like it or not, the vampires had to be dealt with. He got up, dressed, and ate a quick breakfast with Ruby and Dorothy. Granny handed Dorothy her crossbow which serving them toast. She had outfitted the weapon to fire small wooden stakes like darts. _"Wow,"_ Jim thought. _"Granny's a fucking badass."_

”Aim for the heart,” Granny told Dorothy, cementing that reputation. "Keep our girl safe."

Granny also gave them some supplies that Dr. Frankenstein suggested the townspeople keep around: salt, garlic, wooden stakes and mallets, and crucifixes she picked up at church. Jim put them where he normally kept his blades. He cursed Jefferson for taking his weapons, but he knew they wouldn’t be much use against the undead.

When they got ready to move out, Dorothy took the driver’s seat in Ruby’s car. Ruby had to stick her head out the window like a dog to try to catch the scent. Ruby’s nose led them to the edge of the Storybrooke Wilderness Park. She called the others and told them to meet them at the entrance to the North Woods. Soon Emma, Hook, Regina, Snow, and the Monster were with them, ready to take on Dracula and the De Villes.

”I have to say,” said Adam, grabbing a mallet and stake. “It’s refreshing to be on the other side of a mob for a change.”

Adam led them deep into the dark woods. Ruby walked at his right hand, smelling Cruella’s coat and checking the air for a similar scent. Dorothy followed her, crossbow at the ready. Jim kept his crucifix and stake handy. He was absolutely petrified after what he saw happen to Nadir, not to mention what he read in Stoker's novel. These weren’t just any adversaries. These were practically demons.

“We’re getting close,” said Ruby, after an hour or so. “The smell is getting strong.”

Jim began to get the feeling he was being watched. He looked about his surroundings. Snow and Emma were still behind him. Killian was by his side. Jim nearly had a heart attack when he looked to his left and saw a set of glowing eyes that turned out to belong to a deer. He started to pray that they never found the vampires, that the monsters just curled up in the sunlight and died. They reached the top of another hill and came to a clearing with two possible paths ahead.

Ruby stopped. "Here," she said. "It's here." They looked around. There wasn't anything to see.

"Are you sure?" asked Regina, shining a flashlight around.

Ruby took another sniff. "Positive."

It was still dark and quite foggy. Looking up at the waxing moon pointing to the inevitable sunrise, Jim was certain this would be the end of him. They were in the vampires' territory, right in the heart of it. No one was around and this did not make Jim feel safer. Quite the contrary. Nonetheless, he joined Dorothy as they split into groups and scouted out the area.

They ventured away from the clearing down a path that wound around a larger tree-topped hill. Jim looked through the fog as Dorothy walked ahead. Through the mist, Jim saw a man out hiding in the brush. He tried to call out, but then he got a look at the man's face in the moonlight. He was so... beautiful. The man motioned for him to come closer. Jim lowered his crucifix and walked over, abandoning the path.

As he drew nearer, Jim noticed the mysterious man's flawless, ivory skin and enchanting violet eyes. He wore very old-fashioned clothes, which made Jim feel right at home among everyone else's modernity. He was like a pallid, red-lipped Jefferson. Jim got so close that the man was able to reach out and touch his face. His hands were cold. It made Jim shiver, but he strangely enjoyed it. 

"Hello," said the man with a charming accent. He smiled gently. He wound his finger around Jim's hair and played with it. "And who might you be?"

Jim knew he shouldn't answer. He ought to scream for help. "Jim," he answered, against all reason. "Jim Hawkins. What are you doing out here? Don't you know there's vampires lurking around?"

"Really? Is that so?" he said, looking deeply into Jim's eyes. Jim was powerless to look away. "What a shame. We mustn't let a few monsters spoil the moment for us."

"Moment? What moment?" Jim asked, as the man ran his hand down Jim's face and cupped his chin. "Oh. That kind of moment. Well... I guess no one's watching."

The man smiled wider, still not showing his teeth. "That's the spirit," he purred, bringing their faces closer together.

Jim's eyes began drooping as the man leaned in to kiss him. Jim didn't know what was going on, but he didn't care. It felt so right in the stranger's arms. There was no Killian, no Jefferson, no Dorian or Nick. Just Jim and this man he stumbled across in the woods. Jim didn't even remember what he'd been doing in the woods in the first place.

He felt the stranger's cheek graze his own. Then Jim felt a wooden dart whiz past his face. The strange man hissed and released him. Jim was left without his kiss, disappointed. Jim's first instinct was to run to him, but then he saw Dorothy emerge from the brush with her crossbow.

"Dorothy, what are you doing?" Jim asked. "Why are you attacking him?" Jim was about to draw his sword to protect his new friend, but he had left it in a different part of the woods.

To their friends behind them, Dorothy called out, “He’s already out! Emma, now!”

"What are you talking about?" Then Jim remembered. His blood ran cold. Jim reached for his crucifix. He couldn't believe he'd been tricked. Stumbling back, Jim could see the creature's fangs and saw it for what it was. A vampire. _The_ vampire. Count Dracula.

Emma rushed over and cast a beam of radiant light at Dracula, weakening him. He staggered back and tripped over a discarded shovel, sending him to the ground. Emma pounced on him and held him down by the neck. Pressing her crucifix to his face, she demanded, “Where’s your other girlfriend? The third one! Where is she?”

"Third one?" asked Jim. He looked back to the clearing. Snow and Regina had two other vampires pinned to trees, trapped by rings of salt. How long had Jim been under Dracula's trance?

Dracula looked up at her, hissing from the searing pain of the cross. “I am the third one _,"_ he grunted. "What have you done with the others?"

"You're not Dracula? Who the hell are you?" Emma demanded. "Jim, hand me the holy water. I'm not fucking around with this guy."

If the vampire could get any paler, he did. Jim reluctantly passed her the bottle. The vampire's spell was still working its way out of him. "My name is Vasilica de Ville," he told her. "Do you come seeking the Master? Are you working for the Queen?"

"Yes and hell no," said Emma, holding the bottle over Vasilica's face. "Now where is he? One of your friends bit my boyfriend. I am in no mood to play nice!" Vasilica wouldn't say. "All right. Have it your way." Emma poured a single drop of holy water onto Vasilica's forehead. He shrieked in pain, baring his fangs. The water left a burn mark. "Had enough? Out with it!"

Vasilica pleaded for mercy. The holy water burnt so badly, he was crying. He pointed back to the clearing where the two female vampires had been subdued. "The Master is over there," he confessed. "Six feet under."

Dorothy finished pouring a ring of salt around him. Emma got off Vasilica and grabbed the nearby shovel. "Thank you for your cooperation. Jim, you come with me. Adam! Dorothy could use your help over here!" Jim followed Emma back to the clearing.

Killian approached them. "Emma, I'm sorry. You know I never would have-" Killian pleaded. "It was like a siren or something. I couldn't control myself." Jim instantly knew what happened. Killian got bewitched by one of the vampires too. If Jim had to guess, he figured it would be the blonde. She was looking at him with the hungriest of eyes.

So that's what it was like under the thrall of a siren. Jim had always wondered. Everything had seemed so normal, so right. Unlike a siren, the vampires were still beautiful even when the spell wore off. Based solely on Killian, it seemed a bit easier to snap out of a vampire's spell too. Jim understood now though. He had been ready to let Vasilica drain his blood for a single kiss. It was demented.

"It's fine," said Emma. "You were under a trance. That one over there managed to lure Jim in. Obviously, you didn't know what you were doing." Emma must not know that Jim was gay if being hypnotized by Vasilica was that absurd. Jim wondered if he should tell her. Would Killian care? Jim decided that it didn't matter what Killian thought, but he'd save it for a later date.

Dorothy and Adam, the only ones who seemed immune to his spell, watched over Vasilica. Jim took custody of Marishka, unsuccessfully tried to work her magic on him. Snow and Regina kept an eye on Verona, the trickiest of the three. Ruby sniffed out the exact location of the Master's grave. Killian and Adam got to work digging with the shovels they found. Fortunately, the earth was fairly loose. After sometime, Killian and Adam managed to haul out a coffin on which a single white rose had been placed.

Over the horizon, the sky had turned from black to purple. Soon it would be orange, brimming with the light of day. It was the perfect time for a vampiric interrogation. Emma took hold of the rose. "Let's see what this guy looks like," Emma said. "Are you thinking more of a Bela Lugosi type or more like Luke Evans?"

 _"She,_ " said Verona, against the heat of Snow's crucifix. "And how did you find us?"

Ruby held up Cruella's fur, which she had been wearing like a shawl to keep warm. "Your cousin Cruella says hello from hell."

"What do you mean, she?" Emma asked, taking up her hammer and stake. Confused, she flung open the coffin. Emma gasped. Instead of Count Dracula, she found a young woman inside wriggling around in a straitjacket. She had bloodless olive skin and long black hair. Emma was about to help her, until she spotted her fangs.

 _"_ So, _Edvard_ , what did I miss? _"_ The vampire opened her eyes and looked at Emma and the others hovering over her. “Who are you people?” she demanded with a dense accent. “Where is Hyde?" She gasped when she spied the other vampires pinned against trees. "Verona! Marishka! What have you done to them?”

“It's just a little salt. And Hyde's dead. Who the hell are you?” Emma asked her forcefully. “Where's Dracula?”

The woman in the coffin and the other vampires started laughing, even Vasilica far down the path. She said, “Dracula? That fool? He’s been dead for ages. My name is Carmilla Karnstein. Now let them go!” She hissed in pain as the sun began to rise. Emma slammed the coffin shut and replaced the rose. Clearly, there had been some kind of mistake.


	19. The Mother of All Vampires

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Carmilla is exhumed, it’s a battle between our heroes and the Queen for her allegiance. Carmilla has a hard time trusting Emma or Regina, but she finds that she and Jim have a great deal in common.

_"The longer I live, the more I wonder if I know anything at all. If I've ever been in love, I can't recall. The longer I live, the less I'm certain that I have all the answers right. I'd give all my yesterdays to touch the light."_ \- "The Longer I Live", _Dracula: The Musical_

* * *

 

The sun continued to rise over the forest. Emma sat with her weight against the coffin, although according to Stoker’s novel, the rose was enough to keep the lid sealed shut. Even so, this Carmilla person thrashed about inside, struggling to get free.

”What do we do?” Emma asked the group, at a loss. “I was expecting Dracula. What the hell is going on?”

Verona spoke up. Her position against the tree was keeping her shielded from the sun. “The Countess is our master now,” she informed them.

“So she’s the one who’s supposed to perform the ritual?” Snow asked, pointing to the casket.

"Obviously,” said Marishka, wincing. A drop of sunlight was appearing on her shoulder.

Regina stepped forward. “I’ve got questions for this one," she said, crossing her arms. "I don’t think we should stake her, not just yet. If she’s not Dracula, we have no idea why she's here or what her intentions are. I’ve never even heard of Carmilla before.”

"I have,” said Ruby, still draped in Cruella's coat. “I read about her online a while back when I was looking for new books to read. Her story predates Dracula's by, like, twenty years.”

"Is she safe?” Emma asked her as the coffin jostled beneath her.

“I don't think so, but I never actually read the book,” Ruby replied. “Books can be wrong though. Just look at mine.”

”Hyde’s book said Jekyll was the good guy,” said Jim, kindly shielding Marishka from the sun. “Turns out, he was a million times worse.”

Emma thought on that for a moment. Then she cracked the lid on the casket, letting in enough light for Carmilla to know she was at their mercy.

”Listen up,” said Emma. “We’re not gonna hurt you, but we do have some questions, so I’m gonna make you a deal. We’ll set your friends free if you agree to come back to town with us.”

Carmilla glared at her through the crack. “And if I don’t?” she asked.

”Then I flip open the lid and we leave all four of you to bake in the sun,” Emma threatened. Carmilla was silent. “You think I’m joking? Watch.”

Emma kicked open the coffin’s lid, leaving Carmilla awash in daylight. She shrieked in pain, her exposed face reddening. Emma shielded her with the lid again. “I’m not normally this much of a hardass, but we’ve got a lot at stake here. So what’s it gonna be?”

Carmilla groaned. Her breathing was pained. “Fine. I will go with you. But first, you must set them free,” she bargained.

Emma nodded to the others. The De Villes were too weak now to be any threat. Everyone erased the rings of salt keeping them bound to their positions.

”I ought to warn you,” said Regina. “If you attempt a rescue mission before the blood moon rises, you’re all going to take a nice hot bath in holy water.”

”Master!” cried Verona, as Snow kicked away the salt. "What are you doing?"

”Do what she says!” Carmilla ordered. “They’ll only hurt me if we provoke them. Now go!”

Jim kicked away the salt around Marishka. Dorothy released Vasilica. Regina had a few more words left for the De Villes. “Now before you turn into bats and fly off, here's a warning. If you try feeding on anyone, we will not hesitate to run a stake right through every last one of you. You almost killed the last guy, and that is not happening again. Understand?”

The De Villes weren’t happy about this new stipulation, but they had no choice but to agree. The three of them transformed into bats and fled to somewhere dark where they could rest and recover. Marishka winked and licked her lips at Jim before flying away. He shuddered, and not in a nice way like with Vasilica.

”Okay,” said Emma to Carmilla. “We let them go. Now you’re coming with us.”

”I can’t leave the coffin,” Carmilla said. "It's daylight."

Emma looked to Adam, Killian, and Jim. They were strong. “We can carry you.” The three men looked at each other and sighed. This was not going to be fun.

Snow, Dorothy, and Ruby ran ahead to get David’s truck while Killian, Jim, and the Monster rotated who had to carry the casket through the woods. Emma and Regina quietly deliberated what ought to be done with their unexpected new guest.

By the end of the trail, Jim and Killian’s arms were aching. They dropped Carmilla by the roadside. She yelled at them to be more careful. Jim looked at Adam. He hadn’t even broken a sweat. Then again, Jim wasn’t sure the Monster could sweat.

A little while later, Snow pulled up in the truck. Ruby, driving ahead with Dorothy, had gotten them a little lost with her nose. Killian and Adam loaded Carmilla into the back, taking extra care not to let the rose fall off the coffin’s lid.

The plan was to reconvene at the Sheriff’s Department. Jim would ride with Snow and Adam, keeping an eye on Carmilla. Regina would transport Emma and Killian back to their car before poofing home to check on Henry. Ruby and Dorothy were going back to Granny’s to get some well-earned sleep before their shift started.

The ride back to the station was uncomfortable and bumpy, especially for Jim who had to sit in the truck bed with the coffin. Carmilla minced no words voicing her displeasure. Jim had to admit, the whole thing was pretty undignified. Still, after twenty minutes of her bitching and moaning, Jim said, “Do you always complain this much?” That shut her up for a while.

They finally arrived at the station without incident. Jim and Adam hauled the coffin inside, accidentally bumping it against the doorframe, earning themselves another tongue lashing. Snow quickly poured salt along the doorway and hung garlic from the top.

Snow had prepared the interrogation room to hold Carmilla. They didn’t know if vampires could really walk through walls, so she lined them with salt and sprayed them down with holy water.

Jim and Adam carefully tilted the coffin upright in front of the door. Emma and Regina waited on the other side. “We’re going to let you out now,” Emma told Carmilla. “Are you ready?”

”Am I ready? Let me out!” Carmilla barked at them.

Emma removed the rose and opened the lid. Carmilla stumbled out in her straitjacket into the room. Regina quickly poured salt across the door, trapping her inside.

Carmilla saw the salt lining the walls. "Very clever,” said Carmilla, realizing she’d been duped. “You’re more crafty than the usual mob.”

Emma pulled out a chair for her. “Please, have a seat.”

Jim looked on from the waiting room. He noticed a splotch of paint in the exact shape of his ass on a nearby chair, still there after three weeks. Things were so much simpler then.

He overheard Killian and Adam discussing Mr. Gold and the various ways he wronged them. Their tone was hushed. Jim could just make out Killian say, “And then he crushed her heart, right in front of me.” Adam couldn't believe his ears.

Jim wanted to know more, but when he stood, he saw the Queen standing menacingly outside the glass door. She waved and he seized up in fear. Killian, seeing Jim's strange behavior, looked to see and nearly fell over. “Emma!” he shouted. “She’s here!”

Emma and Regina rushed out of the interrogation room as the Queen entered the building. Their hands were already glowing, ready to fight.

The Queen kicked at the line of salt. “Well, I see you’ve thoroughly vampire-proofed the building. Too bad you forgot to protect against me. After Erik, you really should have learned,” she said, grabbing Killian and igniting her hand.

"I knew if I waited you’d find him for me," the Queen continued, dragging Killian along. “Now stand aside and let me see him, or the pirate walks the plank.”

Emma let her guard down. “Emma, don’t listen to her!” Killian said, trying to wrench himself free.

Jim threw a knife straight at the Queen, but she levitated it, changed its course, and sent it spinning back at Jim. He barely dodged it as it buried itself in the wall. "Nice try, sweetie," said the Queen. Jim seethed.

"Jim! Emma! Really, don't be a hero!" Killian begged them.

"Please, she already lost you once,” said the Queen. “Do you really think she’d let that happen again?” The Queen was right. Emma backed off. Jim pulled his knife out of the wall, but he didn't try anything else. “Now, let’s have a look at the Count.”

The Queen entered the interrogation room and was so stunned by what she saw, her fire went out and she loosened her grip on Killian. This was his plan all along, surprising the Queen with the young woman in the straitjacket where she expected Dracula.

"It’s Countess, actually.” Carmilla looked back and forth between Regina and the Queen. “I take it Hyde got a hold of you.”

"More like I got a hold of him,” said the Queen with dark humor.

Carmilla narrowed her eyes. “So you’re the one who killed him.”

”That’s right,” said the Queen, proud of the accomplishment. “And who, pray tell, are you? Where’s Dracula?”

Carmilla started to laugh at her. “You all were really expecting Dracula? That’s so precious of you. There is no Dracula, not anymore. I’m the leader of his clan now.”

The Queen was taken completely off-guard. “You’re the Master?” she asked. Carmilla nodded, treating the Queen like some kind of halfwit. “Well, this is a surprise. I’ll admit, I planned on meeting someone else here today.” She looked around at the various angry faces in the room. Trapped and with nothing to gain, the Queen said, “You and I are going to have a chat later.” Then she disappeared.

They all breathed a sigh of relief when the Queen left. "Would someone care to explain that to me?” asked Carmilla, not as relieved as the rest of them.

Regina and Emma gave her the rundown. The Black Coats were no more. Thomas, Jekyll, and Hyde were all dead at the Queen's hand. Adam and Erik had already defected. Their big plan was dead in the water. 

"And what about the Queen?” Carmilla asked. “What did she want with me?”

They were hoping she wouldn’t ask. “She wanted to meet with the Master,” Regina explained. “After she murdered Hyde, she figured you might be able to help her get what she wants. We're still not exactly sure what she wants.” She lied.

"So this whole venture was a waste,” Carmilla said, straining against her restraints. “What are you going to do with me now? Cut off my head? Burn me alive?”

"Hold on. Don't get excited," said Emma. Emma and Regina silently conferred. “We don’t really know what to do. We know Adam and Erik aren’t dangerous anymore. But your three friends nearly killed one of us a few weeks back and we don’t know where you stand on this whole ritual business. We'd be happy to let you go-"

"You can’t let me go!” Carmilla burst. “Please! It's not safe! You have to keep me trapped here!”

"What?” Emma and Regina said at once. Emma continued, “You _want_ us to keep you locked up?”

Carmilla clumsily stood to her feet. She was weak after spending so long underground. “I was only supposed to be unearthed on the day of the blood moon. It’s too dangerous to let me go free. You must take me somewhere away from town, someplace I can’t escape.”

Everyone was baffled by her request. They asked for a moment to talk outside and shut Carmilla inside the room. Emma gathered them all in the lobby where she could keep an eye out for the Queen.

”Do we trust her?” Emma asked the group. 

“I don’t know,” said Snow skeptically. “Who _asks_ to be locked up?”

Emma turned to the Monster. “Adam, you know her, right? Should we believe a word she’s saying?”

"We've never met before,” said Adam, looking at her through the glass. “The closest I came was watching them load her coffin onto _The Albatross_. We were all each other’s means to an end. Nothing more.”

Emma looked over at Jim. “Jim, did you ever meet her at the asylum?”

”No,” said Jim, feeling useless. “Never even heard of her. Why did Thomas steal a copy of _Dracula_ if it was her this whole time?”

Killian shrugged. “Bad directions on Hyde’s part, maybe? Perhaps they didn’t have a copy of her book, so they settled for the next best thing. Let me go give Belle a call.”

Killian stepped outside to call the library. He came back a few minutes later. “According to Belle, there is a book, but the library does not have it in stock.”

”Hold on, I’ll google it,” said Jim, wanting to contribute something. He typed "Carmilla vampire book” into his phone and wound up on the Wikipedia entry. “ _Carmilla_ is an 1872 Gothic novella by Joseph Le Fanu, one of the early works of vampire fiction, predating _Dracula_ by 26 years. Huh, Ruby was right."

Jim kept reading. He was shocked to read “lesbian vampire.” He left that part out. It probably wasn’t important, at least not to anyone other than Jim. He continued on to the plot.

If Le Fanu's novella was to be taken as fact, Carmilla was a centuries-old vampire who preyed on young women in particular. She finally met her end when a vampire hunter named Baron Vordenburg killed her, aided by the father of her latest target, a woman named Laura Perrodon.

"We can't believe everything we read," said Snow, hoping for a pleasant outcome to everything. "She's alive, after all. Maybe she's not all that bad, at least not so bad she can't be reasoned with."

Regina looked at her with a dead-eyed stare. "Zelena's alive. What's your point?"

"What are we going to do? Kill her? Look at her in there! She's helpless," said Snow, full of pity for someone who likely did not deserve it. Just like Jim.

They looked back at Carmilla. She didn't look evil. She just looked tired. She looked pathetic, ready to give up.

“We're not killing her," Emma decided. "But we can't let her go, even though I'm still weirded out that she _wants_ us to keep her caged up. She was expecting Hyde just as much as we were expecting Dracula. She didn't plan on us, so I don't think she's trying to trick us."

Everyone agreed that was reasonable to assume. Emma stood up. “All right,” she said, clapping her hands together. “Where are we taking her? It’s gotta be someplace we can secure against the Queen. The Sheriff’s Department isn’t gonna cut it.”

”There’s always the psyche ward,” Regina suggested, a little peeved to be worrying about Carmilla when they had bigger fish to fry. “Victor isn’t around to say no. Thanks for that, actually.” The Monster very nearly smiled.

Emma shook her head. “She already broke in there to free Hyde. It’s too obvious. That reminds me. We still have to figure out how to help Ariel."

Jim took one look at Carmilla’s coffin and had what he hoped was a brilliant idea. “She already sleeps in a coffin. Where do they keep dead bodies in this town?” he asked.

"The cemetery?" said Snow, considering the idea.

"Funeral home?" Killian suggested.

"How about the morgue?” Regina threw out. Her tone implied killing her first.

Emma stroked her chin. "I like the funeral home idea. I don't think she'd guess that right away. Let's take her where they took Cruella. It'll be like a family reunion."

"Cruella de Vil is no relation to me," said Carmilla, standing in the doorway right behind the line of salt. At some point, she had opened the door to listen. "De Ville was Dracula's alias while in London. I'm not part of the De Ville clan, not by blood."

"So why are you in charge?" asked Emma. "Why do the other vampires call you their Master?"

"Because they knew power when they saw it," Carmilla answered. "Dracula's death left a hole in Transylvania desperate to be filled. With no vampires in Styria to join me, I looked abroad."

Emma was chilled by that language. Carmilla, even at her weakest, could still conjure an aura of intimidation. "I will be answering no more questions for now," Carmilla mandated. "I need to rest. I got a little too much sun today.”

"That's fine. I think we figured out a place we can keep you," Emma told her, not apologizing for exposing her to sunlight. "Although, I'm not sure you're gonna like it."

That didn't matter much. Carmilla wasn’t going to _enjoy_ any plan they concocted. They all involved her being trapped in a box. Snow found a hat and an umbrella to keep the sun off her. The straitjacket was staying on. Judging by her hissing when they got outside, it wasn’t a perfect solution.

Emma, Regina, and Killian drove Carmilla to the local funeral home and crematorium. Jim recalled that one of the few things vampires can’t survive is immolation. Once again, he pictured the incident at the water tower and wondered if that was their backup plan if Carmilla became a problem.

Utterly spent, Jim walked back to Granny’s for some lunch and a nap. Once Ruby had a chance to rest, he would politely ask her for a lift back to Jefferson’s house.

Jim made sure not to order the tomato soup this time. As he stared blankly into his bowl of broccoli and cheddar, Jim couldn’t help thinking back to the forest and being drawn in by Vasilica’s transfixing gaze. It was so embarrassing, even though no one seemed to think much of it. It could have happened to anyone after all.

Not Dorothy though. Jim saw her taking orders from customers. She had been just fine next to him in the woods. She may have even saved Jim's life. After she brought a family their food, Jim called her over.

"Hey, Jim. How's your food tasting?” Dorothy asked. "Anything else I can get for you?"

"I’m good on food,” Jim responded. “I actually wanted to talk about earlier this morning. Thanks for saving my ass back there in the forest. That freak would have eaten me alive if you hadn’t been there with your crossbow.”

"It’s no problem,” said Dorothy, refilling his water glass. She needed to look busy if she was going to keep talking to him.

“I’m really embarrassed,” Jim told her. “I can’t believe I let that happen to me.”

Dorothy shrugged. “You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The same thing happened to Hook. Ruby said she almost got drawn in, but Snow held her back.”

"It didn’t happen to you,” Jim reminded her. She sent that wooden dart right into Vasilica’s shoulder without a second thought. “That was some real sharp-shooting by the way.”

"Thanks,” Dorothy said. “I think that vampire guy- What was his name? Vaseline or something? He was trying to sell a dog to a girl who likes cats, if you catch my drift.” Jim caught her drift. “When I got to be marrying age, Aunt Em was worried I might never find a man. Took her a while to realize I didn’t really want one.”

Jim laughed quietly. “Sounds a lot like me and my mom. And me and my ex. He liked women. When he left, he figured I’d be able to find one too. You know, have a normal life. I don’t know why he thought it would be that easy.”

"Normal's overrated." Dorothy had to go attend to a customer, but she was back in a few minutes. “Is this the same guy you ran into here in Storybrooke?”

”Yeah,” Jim admitted. “I may have left out a few details.”

”You’re not obligated to tell us anything,” Dorothy assured him, sitting down. “I know it’s hard being open about stuff. It sure took me a while. Kansas wasn’t like the Enchanted Forest. After I came back from Oz, Uncle Henry took me to get my head examined. He thought I was out of my mind. I learned to keep quiet about it. I learned to keep quiet about this too. Aunt Em never told him. No telling what he would have done if she did.”

Jim sometimes wondered what his father would have done if he’d still been around. Beat him? Throw him out of the house? Maybe Jim would have tried running away. His mother once said, in a fever-induced delirium, “I’m glad your father left. I think you're better off without him. Who knows what he would do?” This was after she learned about Killian.

”Is that why you went back to Oz after she died?” Jim asked, still not knowing exactly what and where Oz was. “Sorry if it’s a sore subject.”

”It’s all right,” said Dorothy. “We were on a ship that got caught in a hurricane. I washed up on shore right by the wasteland. When Toto and I finally reached the Yellow Brick Road, I decided there was no turning back. I helped General Jinjur's army overthrow Zelena, and then I got a job as Empress Ozma’s personal bodyguard. Not long after that, I met Ruby.”

”What’s the deal with Zelena anyway?” Jim asked her curiously. “She’s Regina’s sister and it seems like everyone really hates her.”

”They should. They didn’t call her the Wicked Witch of the West for nothing,” Dorothy said. “I can’t stand to see her getting off scot-free after everything she pulled, all because she went and got pregnant with Robin Hood’s baby.”

Jim did an impressive spit-take that misted the table. Dorothy wiped it up with a cloth. “What?!” he burst.

Dorothy didn't have time to elaborate. "I’ve gotta get back to work. I can tell you more later if you really wanna know,” she said, getting out of her seat.

Jim was left behind in total shock. That was one love triangle he did not want to spend time thinking about. After finishing his soup, he went back to his room for a nap. Unfortunately, they were already halfway through turning over his room for a new guest. He just now noticed that they fixed the hole Jim punched into the wall. Neither Granny nor any of the staff said a word about it. Maybe they assumed it was an accident and knew he couldn't pay to fix it.

 _"Shit,"_ Jim said to himself, feeling guilty on top of feeling tired. _"I guess I'll just make my way back to Jefferson's now. I should probably give him a call."_

Jim stepped back out into the hall, startling a young woman coming up the stairs. He had seen her before in the diner with a man he assumed was her father. She was pretty and had bouncy blonde hair. He gathered, by her old-fashioned attire, that she was also an Ingary resident.

"Sorry," he said to her as she continued on her way. He tried to think of her name. Lily? Lisa? He couldn't quite recall.

He dialed up Jefferson's cell number. It went straight to voicemail. "Hey Jeff, we're done with the vampire hunt. It went well, I think. Turns out, it wasn't Dracula. I'll tell you more later, but basically we dug up this coffin in the forest and out popped this woman named Carmilla. None of us knew exactly what to do with her. They're keeping her in a funeral home for the time being. Anyway, if you get this message and are able to come get me, that would be great. I'm at Granny's."

Jim decided to go back downstairs and wait with his stuff. He returned to the diner and turned in his key. His seat was now occupied by a man with red hair and glasses, eating a sandwich and reading a newspaper. Jim would have to just stand in the corner like some kind of asshole.

Then he heard a familiar voice call his name. Jim searched the restaurant and saw a man in the far corner waving. Upon second glance, Jim realized that it was Ishmael from _The Nautilus._ "Not this guy." Not wanting to be rude, Jim came over to his table. "Hey!" he said in the most friendly voice he could. "How's it going? What are you doing on land?"

"Our rations were running low," explained Ishmael. "A few of us came to town to go the market. Then it occurred to us we didn't have any local currency. It's a good thing this restaurant is offering free food to Ingary folks. We've got a lot of mouths to feed."

 _"Great,"_ thought Jim. _"I'm sure Granny's just going to love that."_

"How have you been? I haven't seen you in weeks," said Ishmael. "Have a seat. Have you had lunch yet? You've got to try one of these cheeseburgers." Ishmael wiped some grease off on his pants.

Jim sat down. "Yeah, the food here is pretty good. I've already eaten though. Oh! Um, I wasn't able to find your friend. Quincy, right?"

"Queequeg," Ishmael corrected.

"Bless you," said Jim, deliberately annoying him.

Ishmael took another bite of his burger, talking as he chewed. "It's all right. I didn't expect you to find him here, but it was worth a try. What about that pirate of yours? Did you ever find him?"

Jim was afraid he was going to ask about that. "Yeah, I did. He's still alive, in case that was your next question," Jim said glumly. Ishmael still had a mouth full of food, but Jim could see more questions on the tip of his tongue. He told him the whole drawn-out story. When he was done, Ishmael was speechless.

"You were right," said Jim. "I should have never have started this revenge quest to start with. That's seventy years of my life straight down the drain."

"I'm not so sure, honestly. You deserved to know what had... Could you say that last part again?" said Ishmael, growing more and more confused as he spoke.

Jim sighed. "I'm over a hundred years old," Jim said. "Seventy-something years ago, I met this guy with this magic book. I was a little drunk and I thought it would be a brilliant idea if I wrote something inside it that would keep me from aging. Considering how old I am, I guess it's keeping me from dying too."

Ishmael was astounded. "Why would you do something like that?"

"Because Captain Hook was hiding out in Neverland, somewhere you don't age. I was determined to catch him and I didn't think it would take me _this_ long. I don't remember what I wrote exactly. I might be stuck like this unless something comes along and kills me," Jim lamented. "On a long enough timeline, it's bound to happen sooner or later."

"This is what I meant," said Ishmael, setting aside his food. "Vengeance always leads to suffering. Always."

Jim huffed. "Well, I wish you had been around to tell me that seventy years ago! I'm sorry. It's not your fault. These past three weeks have been hell."

"What are you going to do now? Are you coming back to Ingary with us?" asked Ishmael, sipping the last drops of his milkshake.

"I don't know. I have to stay here and help Killian and the others with the Queen," Jim told him. "It's partly my fault that Hyde was here in the first place."

Ishmael cocked his eyebrow. "They have a queen here? Who's Hyde?" He had no idea what had been happening above water. Jim spent more time catching Ishmael up on everything that didn't involve Killian, from the Invisible Man all the way to Carmilla. "And they're locking her up _where_?"

Just as Jim was about to clarify, his phone rang again. He held up a finger to tell Ishmael to shut up. Jim hoped it was Jefferson, but no. It was Emma. Reluctantly, he answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, is this a bad time?" Emma asked.

"That's cute. You think I have a life," Jim answered. "No, I'm not busy. What's up?"

He could hear her exhale through the phone. She sounded just as tired as him. "Listen, I hate to bother you with this, but we're swamped right now trying to deal with the Queen. We need someone to watch Carmilla for a while. Would you be available?"

Jim massaged his head. This was really starting to get out of hand. Jim wanted to help, really he did, but he was exhausted. Then he remembered that he was also dirt broke and so was Ishmael. Jim had a thought.

"Hey, Emma, I know we're in the middle of a crisis and I’m happy to help out, but I’ve been doing a lot of work for zero pay. Would it be possible for me to get a little compensation, you know, going forward?” Jim asked, trying not to press his luck.

Emma was not expecting that question. “Uh, we can probably negotiate that later when my dad gets back," she said uncertainly. "How does ten bucks an hour sound?”

”One second,” said Jim. He called out to Ruby, who was just putting on her apron. “Hey, Ruby, how much do you make here waiting tables?”

Ruby took a moment to remember. "Seventeen dollars an hour, plus tips, benefits, and free room and board. But that's because Granny's, you know, my granny. Why, you need a job?”

"No, just curious. Thank you!” Jim turned back to Emma on the phone. “Yeah, I’m gonna need a little more than that.” He heard her sigh. Mission accomplished. He looked across the table to Ishmael, who didn't have a clue what was going on. "Also, I'm not sure how I feel about doing guard duty alone. Can I bring a friend along? Great. He'll need a paycheck as well."

Jim finished his call and hung up. To Ishmael, he said, “Wanna go see a vampire?” Ishmael gave him the most uneasy smile.

No one would drive them, so Jim and Ishmael - who Jim started calling simply “Ish” - had to go to the funeral home on foot. It gave Jim the opportunity to give him the grand tour. He showed him the library where he found his book, Mr. Gold’s pawn shop, and The Rabbit Hole where Jim met Jefferson.

”Who’s Jefferson?” Ish asked him.

Jim had forgotten to mention Jefferson. “He’s a bartender. I met him on my first night in town. I may or may not have broken into his house to find some less conspicuous clothing. He was oddly fine with it when I told him. We're living together now. He has a huge house. Granny’s going to start charging rent soon, so I really lucked out.”

”Sounds like you’re getting over the Captain after all,” Ishmael said with an encouraging smile.

”Huh? No! It’s nothing like that! Jefferson’s not...” Jim paused. He didn’t know for sure what Jefferson was. No. No wishful thinking. “He has a daughter. And he’s sort of in a heated custody battle, so I've gotta be the last thing on his mind.”

Jim and Ishmael arrived at Poe's Funeral Home and Crematorium in about forty-five minutes. It was far on the edge of town, near the cemetery. Jim was even more tired than before. With all his fatigue, he wasn’t sure he was the ideal candidate for guard duty. He texted Jefferson.

 

**James Hawkins**

Hey, it's me again. Emma asked me to guard Carmilla at the funeral home. You can forget about picking me up for now. I probably won’t be home for dinner. Sorry. :(

 

No response. Jim and Ishmael went inside. The morticians, two brothers, directed them to the basement. It was where the bodies were stored before they were embalmed or burnt. Emma was there helping Carmilla get situated. So was Killian. Ishmael took one look at the hook and drew his own conclusions.

”That’s him?” he asked, somewhere between smitten and terrified. Jim nodded. “Wow, he’s... not what I expected.”

”You’re telling me," Jim said out of the corner of his mouth. "Hey, sorry it took so long for us to get here. We had to walk all the way from Granny's. This is Ishmael. He works on the ship that brought me here.”

"The submarine out in the bay?" Emma asked. Ishmael nodded and shook her hand. Emma began looking quite surprised. “Wait. Ishmael, like, from _Moby Dick_?”

Ish was quite surprised as well. “How do you know that name?” Wonderful. Another book for Jim to read. He still hadn't finished _Hunchback._

Emma brought them over to the new casket where they were storing Carmilla. It was hidden among a dozen other coffins of various styles, each with a white rose placed on top.

"We're rigging this place to trap the Queen," Emma said quietly, eyeing one of the coffins. "Regina was able to place a charm on the building to keep her from teleporting in or out. We also vampire-proofed. If any of them do manage to get in here, they’ll have to search the coffins. We rigged them with a modified version of Tamara’s taser. It should disable the Queen's magic for a bit. Do not open the coffins.

"You all right in there?” Emma knocked on Carmilla's coffin. All they heard out of Carmilla was a discontented growl. Ishmael was visibly unnerved, so Emma handed him a crucifix. “You might want this, just in case. We've got other things to take care of, but we’ll try to be back as soon as we can. Can you hold down the fort for a few hours?”

"Sure thing," said Jim, exhausted but fairly confident. What could possibly go wrong?

Ishmael didn't seem nearly as sure of himself. After some brief instruction, Emma and Killian left Jim and Ishmael alone with Carmilla, the coffins, and the cadavers. ”Well, this isn’t what I expected to be doing today,” said Ishmael, eyeballing a freshly embalmed corpse.

”Welcome to Storybrooke,” said Jim, deadpan. “You should keep watch upstairs. If you see an angry woman in a big dress, come get me and do not let her see you.”

Ishmael didn’t seem too keen on being the watchdog, but it was either that or stay in the creepy basement with the vampire. He left Jim to look after Carmilla alone. Carmilla kept quiet during this time. She might very well have been sleeping.

Jim sat in the shadows for a while, hidden in case the Queen came along. This wasn’t the ideal trap, but it might work if they were clever. Even if the Queen was dumb enough to open one of the rigged coffins, Jim didn’t know how long her powers would be out for. Once they came back, they’d have one angry Queen on their hands.

After a while, Jim got bored and started wandering the basement. He was morbidly curious about all the equipment and started flipping through the books on how to care for the recently deceased. He even found a cache of beauty supplies. Jim shuddered when he realized that those were for the dead as well.

Jim walked back to his post, realizing that he could have been here days prior, scraped off the bottom of the ravine and stuffed into a body bag. He was glad Jefferson had been there to stop him. Even so, how else was he supposed to die? Just wait around to be struck by lightning or catch some terrible disease?

It wasn’t fair. Killian got to live a normal life, getting older and older until he and Emma were happily buried side by side. Jim would outlive them, still young as he watched the love of his life be lowered into the ground. It’s not how he hoped to see Captain Hook die.

Jim needed to talk to Nick. Maybe Nick could tell him just what he had written in that stupid book of his. Maybe he could find a way to undo it. Jim couldn’t stay this way forever. One way or another, this madness had to stop.

Walking around the basement, lost in thought, Jim bumped into one of the trick coffins. This created a domino effect that bumped into Carmilla. "Hey! Watch what you’re doing!” she barked at him. Jim apologized. “You seem preoccupied. If you can’t focus, you won’t make a very good guard.”

"I’m sorry. It’s really nothing,” Jim told her.

"I’m exceptionally bored in here. If you have something interesting on your mind, I wouldn’t mind a diversion,” Carmilla said.

Jim thought it over. If her book was right, then she was like him - different, maligned for wanting the wrong kind of person. Unlike anyone else in Storybrooke, she had no reason to care about the details regarding Killian or share them with anyone. He might as well tell her. 

“All right. You know that hook-handed guy who brought you in here? Dark hair, leather jacket? I’m in love with him. Or I was. I’m not really sure anymore,” Jim began, laying it all on the table.

Carmilla scoffed. "Well, obviously,” she said. "I knew that much." Jim could tell she was rolling her eyes inside the casket.

He went into a moderate panic. “Obviously? What do you mean, obviously?” Was it really that transparent?

Carmilla chuckled. “No one else was paying attention, but I know that look of fear when one’s beloved is in danger. You and the blonde one, Emma? You had the exact same face. So what vexes you about him?”

"I don’t know. Everything? It all seems so cut and dry. He loves her, not me,” Jim said, trying to convince himself. "I spent my whole life searching for him, only to wind up a hundred years older with nothing to show for it."

For once, Carmilla was briefly lost for words. "I had a love once,” said Carmilla sadly, her haughty facade melting away. “Her name is Laura.”

Jim tried to remember. “Laura from the book?” He pulled out his phone and went through his history. His reception was bad, but he found the article. “Laura Perrodon?”

”How do you know that name?” Carmilla demanded.

Jim stammered. “Somebody wrote a book about you. They mention her name in it.”

”What does it say?” she asked. She desperately wanted answers. “Please, tell me what it says.”

Jim was taken aback by her sudden urgency. “It’s not one of those magic books, so it’s probably wrong. It says that you tricked her family into letting you stay in their home. You tried to drink her blood. Then it says they killed you, pretty gruesomely,” Jim summarized.

”Lies!” Carmilla shouted, rocking the coffin. “It was an accident! I never meant to hurt her! Oh, never mind. You won't believe me. Do one thing for me. If you see Laura, please don’t tell me where she is. It’s better that I don’t know.”

Jim put his phone back in his pocket. She hadn't been this open with anyone else. He heard hear the brokenness in her voice. “I believe you. Is she here?”

”Unless she perished in the crash, yes,” said Carmilla. "I too have been searching. Her father took her from Styria all the way to Ingary, somewhere he thought I'd never find her. I sought out other vampires who could help me search, to teach me to control my power. Until I met her, I never knew I was a..."

"A lesbian?" Jim asked, cutting right to the chase.

"A vampire," Carmilla stated. "But yes, also that. We fell in love during my stay at her home. One night I was overtaken by a strange bloodlust. I couldn't control myself and I attacked her. Lord Perrodon found us and chased me away. I vowed I would find her again, but only when I could no longer hurt her. That's why I'm in this coffin, in these ridiculous restraints. I can't be near her. When I get close, I lose control. Please, never tell me if you find her."

”I’ve been searching for someone too.” Jim looked up. Ishmael was coming down the stairs, taking a break from his post. “We met right before setting sail on a whale hunt. We hardly spoke same language at first. By the end of it, he was just about the only thing that was keeping me sane. I was just coming to terms with the fact that I had feelings for him, when the whale destroyed our ship. I’ve been looking for him ever since.”

Jim sent him a bittersweet smile. “You too, huh?” Ishmael nodded. “Wow, look at the three of us.” He laughed humorlessly. Three sad stories of love and loss.

”Yeah, you are quite a sight.” It was the Queen, coming up behind Ishmael. She grabbed him and held a knife to his throat. “Now, let’s try this again. Shall we? Where is she?”

Jim couldn’t let the Queen get her hands on Carmilla. There was too much at stake if that portal opened. Somehow he had to protect both her and Ishmael. “If you're looking for the Master, she's not here.”

“Don’t play dumb with me,” the Queen told him as Ishmael squirmed. “You wouldn’t be here, in a room full of coffins and dead people, if you weren't protecting her.”

That had been a pretty weak lie. Switching tactics, Jim prayed that Emma’s plan would work. “All right! You win! She’s sleeping in one of the coffins. They wouldn’t tell us which.” Jim hoped that lie was a little more convincing, enough to get her to open one of the rigged caskets.

"That won't slow me down." The Queen dragged Ishmael down the stairs. “All right, sailor. Open these caskets for me and I might just let you live.”

Ishmael looked at Jim. Jim had no answers that wouldn’t give the game away. Smartly, Ishmael opened it from the side, allowing the taser darts to spring forth straight at the Queen. She took a full blast of electricity straight to the chest, collapsing to the floor.

”Why you...!” growled the Queen, standing back up. She tried to summon a fireball, but all that emerged were sparks. “What the hell? What did you do to me? I'll kill you!”

Jim laughed. He sent a quick distress text to Emma and the others. “I’m not scared of you. You’re nothing without your magic. Good luck burning us now.”

"Don’t be so sure about that," she said, seizing Ishmael, who had attempted vainly to flee. She raised her knife to him. “Jim, tell me where the Countess is. If you don’t, I’m going to take your little friend here, throw him in the furnace, and cremate him alive!”

Ishmael went into a full panic. Jim was terrified too, not only of what might happen to Ishmael, but what the Queen might do with Carmilla under her sway. Should he give her up? He wasn't sure what to do next, but he only had so little time.

“Jim!” Ishmael cried out. “Help me!”

Fearing for Ishmael's life, Jim nearly spilled the beans. Then Carmilla called out, “Enough! Leave these men alone! I’m over here. We may talk, but you must not let me out of this room or out of this coffin. That is not negotiable!”

The Queen let Ishmael go. "I can accommodate that." She pushed aside the other coffins. Jim and Ishmael both stood there powerlessly as the Queen lifted the rose off the lid. Before she opened the casket, the Queen said, “Jim, it’s time the Master and I had ourselves a little girl talk. I think I’ve got just enough magic left to show you boys the door.”

With a flick of her wrist, the Queen engulfed both Jim and Ishmael in smoke. When it cleared, they were lying on the unkempt lawn of the cemetery outside. "Oh, fuck,” said Jim, noticing his surroundings. He bolted for the front door. It was locked.

Jim walked back over to Ishmael, who was trembling and royally pissed. "What the hell?” he said angrily. “Were you really gonna let her stick me in an incinerator?”

"What? No! I’m sorry!" said Jim, panicking. "I got scared. I was trying to think of some other way out.”

"Why not just tell her about the vampire?” Ishmael asked.

"Listen, Ish, you don’t know the kind of havoc she could wreak if the Queen gets Carmilla on her side. People will die. A lot of people. We have got to get back inside,” Jim told him, scouting out for another entrance.

Ishmael stood back. "You can go back in there and risk your life if you want. I'm done! I can find a different way to make some money around here."

"I understand," Jim said. "This isn't your fight. I shouldn't have brought you along. I didn't think it would all go downhill so quickly."

"Is this really what you've been doing since we got here?" asked Ishmael, bewildered.

"Pretty much," Jim replied as he dashed off to find a new way into the building.

 

* * *

 

Down in the basement, the Queen and Carmilla were having a nice chat. The casket was open, but Carmilla was snug in her straitjacket under a blanket of chains. The Queen leaned over her.

"You're probably thirsty after your long stint underground," said the Queen. She presented Carmilla with a bottle of blood from Hyde's collection.

"Get that away from me!" Carmilla shouted, turning away. "That could be anyone's blood."

The Queen vanished the bottle. " _Sorry!_ I didn't know you were such a picky eater," said the Queen sarcastically. "I've been waiting a long time to meet you, Countess Karnstein."

“Please. You thought I was Count Dracula,” said Carmilla.

“I wanted to meet the Master and here you are. Since we first met at the station, I went back and read your story. _The real one_ ,” the Queen began. She summoned her Storybook. “I hope you don’t mind. I have to say, it's a real unfortunate ending you've got there."

“What did it say?” asked Carmilla, disinterested. “I’m _so_ curious.”

The Queen ignored her feigned interest. “It said that when you were young, some nice gentleman took you in after your mother died. You were ill, but none of the doctors could figure out why. Turns out, you were a vampire.”

“Guilty,” said Carmilla, affirming the obvious.

“You didn’t know though, or you probably wouldn’t have let your friend Laura get so close to you. You two were _very_ close, weren’t you?” asked the Queen suggestively. “It’s okay. Girls like you are welcome in Storybrooke. Lesbians, I mean. People here aren't too keen on vampires. Seems like Styria wasn’t a fan of either.”

Carmilla stared up at the ceiling. "Please get to the point. If you read my story, you must know why I'm here. If you do, then you must have some kind of offer to make me. So go on and make it before I lose my patience."

"My, my, you've played this game before," said the Queen, impressed by her grit. "I'm not sure I know what you want though. Avoiding death is such a lowly ambition. What are you really after?”

“That’s just it,” Carmilla told her. “I _do_ want to die. I want to grow old. I want to be human again. Severing myself from this book is only the beginning. The Dark Realm was supposed to hold the answers I need to become what I once was.”

The Queen smiled down at her. “Then you and I have a lot in common. I think we should team up. We can both get what we're after."

“You killed Hyde,” Carmilla reminded her. “Why on earth should I trust you? Why should I take you to the Dark Realm? You don't even know what you're looking for.”

“They didn't tell you, did they?” asked the Queen. "Hyde told me everything before I put him to rest. There's a special friend of his trapped in the Dark Realm - the Black Fairy. Once we set her free, she'll do whatever we ask. I've got everything ready, except my way to get there."

Carmilla was mystified. "They said..."

"They lied," the Queen told her. "They're afraid of you and they're using you. They brought you here to be a trap for me. Once I'm captured, they won't hesitate to kill you. I want to help you, Carmilla. Together, we'll get you unbound from that book and you'll get everything your undead little heart desires. What do you say?"

 

* * *

 

Emma and Killian sped back to the funeral home as fast as they could. Once there, they found Jim trying and failing to break inside. Emma undid the lock with magic and they armed themselves, gearing up to face the Queen.

When they reached the basement, it was worse than they feared. Carmilla was up, out of the coffin, and her restraints were loose. She stood in the center of the room, eyes focused on the ground. The Queen was smiling deviously in the corner. She didn't even say anything. She let Carmilla do all the talking.

"You lied to me,” said Carmilla. “You said you didn’t know what she wanted, what was in the Dark Realm. You lied.”

Jim stepped forward. "I’ve done a lot of lying since I got here, but I never lied to you,” he said sincerely. "I've been more honest with you than just about anybody. Whatever she told you-"

"Enough! You deceived me and used me, all of you!” Carmilla began slowly walking toward them, sloughing off the straitjacket. Underneath was an ornate scarlet gown. “You were so desperate for me not to perform the ritual. You would have said anything. Then you used me as bait to capture her! Now you come at me with your weapons? Who do you think you're dealing with?”

Jim and the others stood their ground. The line of salt was protecting them, or so they thought. Carmilla draped the jacket over the line. She set one bare foot on it. The flesh turned from a bloodless olive to a burnt red. Still, Carmilla struggled through the barrier through sheer force of will.

They hadn't brought any garlic or holy water. "Run!” said Emma, whipping out her crucifix. Jim and Killian scrambled upstairs as Carmilla broke through the invisible, searing wall between them. They ran out the front door upon which a massive crucifix had been nailed.

“That ought to keep her,” said Jim, shutting the door behind them.

”What about Emma?” asked Killian.

Emma came speeding out the door not two seconds later. “She knocked the cross right out of my hand!" she panted, slamming the door again. "She is _pissed_.”

Suddenly, an armchair went sailing through the front window. Glass flew everywhere. Carmilla had picked the whole thing up and chucked it with her bare hands. She must be freakishly strong. A bat flew out of the hole she made, which disappeared into the woods nearby.

The three of them watched as Carmilla flew away into the sunset. "This is bad,” said Killian, captioning the obvious.

David arrived on the scene a few minutes later, followed by Regina. They both got a good look at the broken window and pieced together what had happened. ”What the hell happened here?” David said, stepping around the shattered glass.

”She escaped,” said Jim, still catching his breath.

Regina glared at him. “Really. I never would have guessed.”

" _How_ did she escape?" David clarified. "How'd she get past the salt? Did you not have any holy water handy?" Then David remembered. They all remembered. The Queen.

As they hurried back into the funeral home, Emma explained what happened. The Queen told Carmilla everything they'd been keeping from her. Now she was furious. "She walked through the salt without even wincing. When she couldn’t get past the door, she chucked a chair right through the window.”

They all turned and got a load of the armchair upside-down on the lawn. Somehow David and Regina missed it walking in. Everyone was speechless that such a frail-looking woman had that much upper body strength.

"Where would she have gone?” David wondered.

"She’s probably going to gather her followers and then rendezvous with the Queen,” Regina surmised. "Speak of the devil."

The Queen was coming up the stairs, holding her dress up so she didn't trip. Without her magic, it took all of two seconds for her to surrender. Soon, David had her cuffed and in the back of his car, ready to take back to the station. As she was sitting down, Jim caught a glimpse of her face. She was smiling. That wasn't a good sign.

Jim looked around for Ishmael, but he had run off. Jim didn't blame him. Storybrooke could be a lot, and it was only Ish's first day. He'd make sure Ishmael still got a cut for the day's work. He needed some compensation for his trauma. Jim got in the car with Emma and they drove off.

Back at the Sheriff’s Department, David directed the Queen into a cell right next to Miss Poole. “I told you to get out of there,” said the Queen, looking at her sour expression. She turned to her captors. “Do I get my one phone call or what?”

Emma fit her with a shock collar augmented by Hank Morgan. The Queen snapped her fingers, trying to make some kind of magic happen. The collar zapped her. “This is medieval even for me,” she said, rubbing her sore neck.

”If you’re looking for sympathy, you won’t get it from us,” Regina said, locking her behind bars. "Playtime is officially over." The Queen pouted and took a seat, not appearing to take her captivity very seriously.

After the Queen was secured, they reconvened in the back room to talk things over. They had to figure out what to do with the Queen, but they also needed to know Carmilla's next steps. Carmilla could still open that portal without her if the knowledge the Queen provided.

"Carmilla could be anywhere," said Regina. "I say we take Ruby and have her sniff them out again. We should stake them all while we still have the chance."

”No! That’s just what the Queen wants. Carmilla doesn’t want to hurt anyone. If we treat her like she's a monster, we’ll lose her completely,” Jim said.

”What does Carmilla want though?” asked Emma. “What could the Queen offer her to get her to enact the ritual?”

Jim knew. "There’s someone in town from Ingary, someone Carmilla loves. It's Laura, from the book. Carmilla can't be near her without attacking her. That’s why she had us lock her up. She was supposed to stay buried until the ritual, so Hyde could cut her free from her book without any risk.”

Emma was astonished. “Did she tell you that?” Jim nodded. "How did you get her to talk?"

Jim looked at Killian. One of them had to be the brave one. Jim had been meaning to tell them anyway. There was no time like the present.

“She told me because I’m gay, and so is she," Jim confessed. "I told her some things about myself. She trusted me and told me a few things. I probably would have learned more if the Queen hadn’t shown up when she did.”

He waited on pins and needles for Emma’s response. “Huh. Well, at least somebody managed to get through to her. Do you know where she went?” Emma barely registered that Jim had just come out to her. Killian, meanwhile, was flabbergasted that Jim would be so bold.

"No idea," said Jim. "Regina's right. Ruby's our best bet of tracking them down."

Emma sat down and buried her head in her hands. The stress was starting to wear on her. "Then we'll call you when she picks up the scent." With that, the meeting adjourned.

On his way out, Jim took a look at the Queen. She was chatting up Miss Poole, who was nowhere near in the mood. The Queen smiled at Jim as he left the building. None of this felt right. She didn't expect to be locked up for long.

Jim called Jefferson and this time he picked up. He had an early shift and hadn't been able to talk. Within fifteen minutes, Jefferson drove down from his mansion to the Sheriff's Department. Jim was too exhausted to talk about anything. Jefferson was too. They drove home in comfortable silence.

"You know," said Jim, as they pulled into the garage, "I still have a box of my stuff over at Granny's."

"I'll go get it during my next shift," Jefferson told him. He put the car in park and turned off the engine.

Jim got out and noticed that the other car was gone. "What happened to the one you, uh, 'wrecked?'"

"I took it to Marco's garage this morning," said Jefferson. "He's August's father. He gets me good deals on repairs. He was pretty stunned when he saw the damage, but he said he could have it fixed in a couple weeks. Come on inside. I've got dinner waiting."

Jim and Jefferson sat down for a late dinner. It was the leftovers from the meal Jefferson prepared yesterday, but it was still delicious. Jefferson called it 'spaghetti carbonara.' Jim was so famished, he had three helpings.

”So, you lost the vampire but caught the Queen. Not a bad trade,” Jefferson said, charmed by how eagerly Jim wolfed down his food.

Jim stopped chewing. “She looked way too happy to be arrested. Something’s gotta be up. You’re probably going to tell me I’m being paranoid.” Jim stabbed his salad with his fork.

”No, you’re totally right," Jefferson affirmed. "I knew her back in the old days. Regina was one shifty bitch. Trusting the Queen is the last thing you should do. Of course, no one knows that better than Regina, so I don't think you'll need to worry about it. How are you, by the way?”

Jim had been so busy, he didn't have much time to think about how he felt. A little better, perhaps? He hadn't broken down crying talking about Killian with Carmilla and Ishmael. Or with Dorothy. He had even come out to Emma, David, and Regina and none of them seemed to care. It was liberating. Jim felt, not perfect, but freer. It was a good feeling.

"I'm... I'm all right," Jim said. "I've had a lot to keep my mind occupied. As of right now, I'm doing okay. I looked up that word today, on my phone. As it turns out, nobody knows where the hell "okay" came from."

Jefferson laughed. "You're such a nerd," he said teasingly.

"What does that mean? Is that bad?" Jim asked.

Jefferson backtracked. He forgot that Jim was still catching up on slang. "No! It means you're interested in things and learning. That's a good thing. I used to travel a lot, but I only cared to learn as much as I needed for work. I should have been more interested in the world around me."

Jim cracked a smile. "It's hard not to be interested. Everything's so different. When I first got here, it was kind of overwhelming. I saw a friend of mine today. Well, he's more of an acquaintance. He was with me on the ship that brought me here. It was his first day in town. I think it may have been a bit much for him."

"What's his name?" asked Jefferson. "I may have seen him at The Rabbit Hole. We had some sailors in there I hadn't seen before. Poor guys didn't realize they'd need American money. I let them have a round of free drinks just to be nice."

Jim swallowed his food and wiped his mouth. "His name's Ishmael."

Jefferson froze, his fork mere inches from his mouth. Within minutes, Jim was holding a copy _Moby Dick_ by Herman Melville, about the shape and weight of a brick. On the cover was a massive white whale, exactly what Ishmael had been prattling on about.

"Is there anybody in this goddamn town who doesn't have their own book about them?" Jim skimmed through a chapter devoted solely to describing a pipe. It didn't hold his interest. "What about you? Where's your book?"

Jefferson stopped, facing the open refrigerator. After a moment, he said, "Sorry?"

"I said 'Where's your book?'" Jim repeated. "Everyone else has one. Jefferson? I'm kidding."

Jefferson started to laugh unconvincingly. He shut the fridge. "Yeah, I don't have a book. I'm pretty sure I'm just a background character or something."

"That doesn't seem right," said Jim. "I haven't talked to everybody in this town, but it's pretty safe to say you're one of the most interesting people here." He regretted that phrasing. He blamed the wine Jefferson poured for him. "I mean, I'm sure you must have an interesting story from before you came here."

There was a lot going on behind Jefferson's eyes that Jim couldn't see. Fear. Confusion. Embarrassment. Maybe a pleasant twinge of something he wasn't ready for. All Jim saw was a man who looked like he was having a stroke. "Jefferson? Are you all right?"

Jefferson snapped out of it. "Fine! I'm fine! I was just having a moment," he said. True enough. "I do have quite a story, but I think I'll save that for another day. Here, let me get that." Jefferson took Jim's dishes and began washing up.

Jim was worried that he may have offended him or, worse, said something that triggered his anxiety. He offered to help Jefferson clean, but his offer was declined. A little disappointed, Jim left to go take a shower. God knows he needed it.

Too tired to stand, Jim sat down in the tub and let the water fall. He didn't even wash. He just let himself get drenched. So much happened in the past twenty-four hours. He didn't know how to process it. After a few minutes of languishing there, Jim found himself starting to nod off. He forced himself to get up and out, lest Jefferson break down the door later to find him naked and passed out under the water.

Jim changed into his pajamas. He went to tell Jefferson he was turning in early. Jefferson got up from his seat. "Wait," he said. "There _is_ something I wanted to tell you about, since you're going to be living here and all." He pointed to the door on Jim's right, the door Jefferson deftly kept Jim from seeing inside. He slowly opened it. "Don't go in."

Jim peered inside. It looked like some kind of workshop. There were some mannequin heads wearing top hats, top hats that suspiciously looked like what Jim found Jefferson wearing. Jefferson slid off one of his slippers and tossed it inside. When the shoe hit the ground, a second door slid across blocking their view. This one was made of sturdy metal, with a small window to see inside.

"I don't understand," said Jim. "What is this?"

"What you saw in the forest... It might happen again. It doesn't happen often, and never that badly, but it still might happen," Jefferson explained to him. "It's part of my illness. When something triggers it, I forget where I am for a while. It's like I'm someplace else. When it happens, I always come here to this room. I had the door rigged to trap me inside. Once I'm back to normal, I can input a code to let myself out."

That all seemed very drastic. "I wanted to ask. When I found you, you had been screaming about hats. At the poker game, I saw the Queen of Hearts in your hand. Then Regina brought up her mother. You don't have to tell me, but I've been curious what that's all about."

Jefferson wanted to tell Jim, but he couldn't bring himself. "I'd rather not get into that right now. It was hard enough just showing you this. It's embarrassing. I told the guys who installed the door that it was for security reasons. They didn't ask a lot of questions," Jefferson elaborated. "If you ever find me in there, do not let me out unless you know that I'm back to normal."

Jim nodded. Jefferson was an awful lot like Carmilla in this respect. "Thank you for sharing this with me," said Jim, trying to assure Jefferson that he was right to trust him. Jefferson opened the metal door and retrieved his shoe. Jim set his hand on his shoulder, but Jefferson moved away.

"I figured you should know, just in case," said Jefferson, sounding ashamed. "A few days ago, you found me here and I thought you ought to know why. I'm never in this room if I can help it."

"I understand," said Jim, understanding only what Jefferson had been willing to tell him.

Jefferson began walking toward his bedroom. Walking backward, he said, "If you're ever stuck in there, the code is on the underside of the desk."

Jim followed him, also intending to go to bed. It was a long day. "When you get like that, is it like you're back in the Enchanted Forest?" he asked, trying to put the pieces together.

"Not quite," Jefferson answered, not going into further detail. "Anyway, I'm beat. I think I'm going to turn in for the night."

"Me too. Thanks for dinner. I'm sorry for missing it yesterday," said Jim, dawdling in the guest room doorway.

Jefferson leaned against his own door frame. "Don't worry about it," he said, shrugging. "I was a little worried when you said you were going vampire hunting, but I know that you can take care of yourself."

Jim was touched that he'd be concerned. "Speaking of taking care of yourself," Jim said, "don't forget to take your pills."

Jefferson let out a small exhale and smiled slightly. "Thank you. Have a good night." He opened his door and went inside.

"You too," said Jim as Jefferson shut his door. For a minute, he just stood there looking at the door. Jim could hear Jefferson turn on his television. The lights beneath the door dimmed. That told Jim it was time for bed.

He spent some time browsing the internet, soaking up more information about the world. He'd already seen a fair amount of Ingary over the years and some of the neighboring countries. He'd seen a great deal of the sea. Here was a new world, an entire planet to explore. The Himalayas. Angel Falls. The Grand Canyon. Jim wanted to see it all.

Maybe he would stay after all. Until something inevitably killed him, maybe he could spend his days exploring the earth. It had been his plan with Killian all along, but he could do it without him.

 _"I'm gonna need money for that,"_ Jim thought to himself, putting his phone away and turning over. _"And I'd hate to do it alone."_ In terms of new reasons for living, travel might not be the most feasible option. _"I'll find something, I guess. I hope."_

 

* * *

 

The Queen had fallen asleep at the station, biding her time until she could strike next. Regina still couldn’t kill her, so she knew she was safe. As long as things came together before the eclipse, she could rest easy. Someone had been posted to watch her, but they were off snoring too.

Suddenly, in the wee hours of the morning, the Queen awoke to the sound of shattered glass coupled with a blaring alarm. In the dark, a bat crawled inside the cell. The bat became Marishka, shrouded in a black cloak. She tore off the bonds stopping the Queen's magic.

”The Master wants to speak with you,” Marishka whispered.

The Queen grinned, expecting as much. “Then we’d best be off.” She grabbed Marishka and they teleported outside.

“Wait! What about me?” called Miss Poole as they vanished. She kicked at her prison cot. "Bitch."

When Marishka and the Queen rematerialized, they met with Verona, who led them to their rendezvous. Soon they were sneaking through the park, in the shadow of an enormous wooden castle. Beneath a street lamp, the Queen saw two figures in black coats. She realized this was Carmilla conferring with Vasilica, looking at the castle’s silhouette against the sky.

”I had a castle once,” said the Queen wistfully, walking over to meet them. “I gave it all up to come live here in this dump.”

”So did I,” Carmilla replied. “I don’t miss it much. I wasn't really mine anyway.”

”Thanks for having your lackeys bust me out of jail,” the Queen said. “I had a feeling you would.”

"There is much we need to discuss," Carmilla said. "I don't suppose you have a meeting place in mind."

The Queen thought about it. "Well, our old meeting place got raided when I took out Hyde," she told her. "How do you feel about a drink? I know a place where they make a mean Bloody Mary."

 

* * *

 

In the early morning, Jim woke up to his phone buzzing loudly in his ear. It was David. Jim took his call, then stumbled across the hall where Jefferson was still sound asleep. He was illuminated by the glow of the television. Jim hated to wake him, but it was urgent.

Jim knocked on the door. Jefferson didn't wake up. Jim called his name. Jefferson still didn't wake up. Jim sighed and threw his shoe at Jefferson's bed. That woke him up. His eyes darted around in a panic before settling on Jim. Jefferson instinctively pulled his covers over his neck.

"What time is it?" asked Jefferson, calming down. "What's going on?"

"Sorry to wake you. I just got a call from David,” said Jim, retrieving his shoe. “You’re never gonna believe what happened.”

”She escaped?” Jefferson said flatly, sitting up in bed. He rested his hand on his neck.

”She escaped,” Jim confirmed, not noticing Jefferson's efforts to cover his neck flesh.

Jefferson sighed. "Typical." He knew where this was going. "Need a ride?” he asked. Jim nodded, hating to be such a bother. Within thirty minutes, they were on their way. Jefferson, worried for Jim's safety, gave him full access to his cache of weapons in addition to the stake, mallet, and crucifix.

When they arrived at the Sheriff's Department, it was just as David had described. The glass out front looked just like the window of the funeral home. It had been blocked off with yellow police tape.

"Guess they should have put holy water in a Windex bottle or something," Jefferson commented, getting a look at the mess.

"That's a pretty good idea, actually. I'll bring that up with them," Jim said as they both entered the building.

Inside, David and Regina were both madly pacing. Happy was uncharacteristically unhappy, making a lot of frantic phone calls. Killian was in the interrogation room, getting details of the breakout from the night guard. Jim expected more tension between Jefferson and David, but they were strangely civil.

David got right to the point. "Miss Poole told us everything in exchange for a lesser sentence," he explained. "Marissa and Veronica-"

"Marishka and Verona," Jim corrected. "They broke the Queen out of jail. We kinda figured. Where is she now?"

"That's what we're all still waiting on," David said, offering them both some coffee. "Emma is out with Ruby right now, trying to find the scent. They'll call when they find the place they're hiding."

David's phone played a pretty little tune. Emma was calling. "That was fast," said David. He answered. Jim, Jefferson, Killian, and Regina all waited for the news. David hung up. With a confused look on his face, he said, "They're at The Rabbit Hole." That was just a few streets away.

"Looks like I'm going to work today after all," Jefferson joked, earning himself a sullen glare from everyone in the room.

 

* * *

 

Carmilla was happy to discover that a Bloody Mary contained no actual blood. The De Villes, on the other hand, were a bit disappointed. They had all been glamored by the Queen to look like Regina and a small group of friends, in case anyone showed up. They'd been discussing joining forces in The Rabbit Hole's private room, but Carmilla still wasn't completely convinced.

"When you call upon this Black Fairy, what exactly do you want from her?” she asked. “If I'm to help you, I want to know what sort of scheme I’ll be complicit in.”

The Queen set her glass down. "In exchange for freeing her from the Dark Realm, she’s going to help me destroy my lesser half. Once Regina's gone, I’m going to kill Emma, Hook, my sister, and anyone else who had a hand in Robin’s death.”

”And then what?” Carmilla asked, biting her celery in half. “Once you’ve committed your murders, what do you intend to do next?”

The Queen was silent. She had no idea what would come next. She had been so fixated on avenging Robin's death that she hadn't thought that far ahead. "I'm really not sure. It doesn't matter though. I'll figure that out later."

"Will killing these people really make you happy?" Carmilla asked. "Why take pleasure in the misfortune of others?"

"I've given up on being happy. The world's decided that I'm not allowed," she said. "However, if I can't get my happy ending, why should they? I went to the Underworld to save Hook with Emma and I came back without Robin. In what world is that fair? Watching them so happy together, it turns my stomach."

Carmilla finished her drink. "You have a lot in common with that Jim fellow. Why not ask him to join your mission to punish Emma and the others?"

"I did, but he was too much of a goody-goody. I considered killing him too, but I learned from the Author that Jim is functionally immortal. So I figure, why not let him be miserable forever? It's like the Dark Curse all over again," laughed the Queen. "I did find a replacement. To get the Blue Fairy's wand, I just needed to tell a certain thief where he could find a magic lamp."

"I know a little bit about eternal misery," said Carmilla. "I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy."

"You know, you're awfully altruistic for a vampire," remarked the Queen. "You don't drink blood. You don't like killing people. Why exactly does this little coven of yours take orders from you? Do they even know you're trying to become human again?"

Verona gripped her glass so hard, it broke. "What?" she asked, incensed. "Is this true?"

"Master, please tell me that she's lying," said Marishka, distraught.

"Why would you do this?" begged Vasilica.

Carmilla's eyes were like saucers. All three of them stood to their feet and began moving toward her. The Queen froze them where they stood. "Not so loyal, are they?" the Queen said, tossing back the last of her Bloody Mary. "Good minions are so hard to find."

Suddenly, Izzy came in with a broom, getting ready to open the bar. "Can I get you folks anything?" she asked in confusion, seeing the three frozen people looming over Carmilla.

"I think just the check," replied the Queen. She pushed Izzy out with a blast of magic. To Carmilla, she said, "Here's the deal. I can make them forget everything I just told them. I've got water from the River Lethe right here. One drop in their drink and it's gone. All I ask is that you help me. We'll both get what we want. The Evil Queen and the Vampire Queen, now that's a partnership. What do you say?"

Before Carmilla could answer, Emma, Jim, and company burst into the room with stakes and crosses in hand. The Queen snapped her fingers, unfreezing Verona, Marishka, and Vasilica. Upon seeing Regina, she removed the glamour on the group.

The De Villes pounced at their attackers, but this time they were ready. Emma misted the air with holy water, as per Jefferson's suggestion. The De Villes ran into a cloud that burned like acid. They fell to the ground. "Stand down,” Emma ordered, holding her stake aloft. “We don’t want to use these.”

”You see!” said the Queen. “You think these people are any better? They came here ready to kill you. One wrong move and they’ll put you in the ground permanently. They don't want to help you, but I do.”

Carmilla was backed into a corner between the Queen and the others. Emma held her spray bottle full of holy water. The Queen held a fireball in her hand. Neither option was particularly inviting. Jim could see the fear in her eyes. They locked eyes and he threw down his stake.

“So, this is what I’m to be, is it?" Carmilla asked the lot of them. "Some sort of toy you can fight over, afraid of my power or trying to use it for your own selfish gain? Carmilla Karnstein is not controlled. She is not manipulated. I am not doing a single thing for any of you, including performing the ritual during the blood moon. No matter what you do to me, I refuse!”

The Queen extinguished the fire in her hand. “I was afraid you’d say something like that,” she said. “Fortunately, I came prepared. We tried it the easy way. Now we do this the hard way.” With a snap of her fingers, the Queen took herself and Carmilla from the room in billows of smoke.

”No!” Carmilla cried out as she disappeared, rematerializing in unfamiliar surroundings. She looked up from the floor and found herself in the great hall of mansion. "Where am I? Where have you taken me?”

”Someplace a little more private,” said the Queen, dramatically coming down the stairs. "I was really hoping you'd be more agreeable, but it turns out you're even worse than Hyde. He wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. You're a pathetic excuse for a vampire."

Carmilla stood to her feet. She was done taking the Queen's abuse. "I haven't tasted blood in over a month," Carmilla said. "When I feed, I take it from murderers, aristocrats, abusers of women, anyone I know the world won't miss. It doesn't completely kill the guilt, but it helps. And you, Your Highness, you just made yourself into the perfect meal."

She began stalking toward the Queen with hunger in her eyes. The Queen ignited a fireball and tossed it Carmilla, who caught it and hurled it right back. "Nice try," she said. "You'll have to do better than that."

The Queen warped the banisters to wrap around Carmilla's wrists, but she tore them apart with her bare hands. With the power of her mind, she hurled the posts like arrows at the Queen, who burned them to ash. The Queen bewitched the chandelier into a torrent of sharpened glass, but Carmilla turned it to sand with a wave of her hand.

"I'm afraid you've met your match," said Carmilla. The carpet pulled out beneath the Queen, knocking her off her feet. It wrapped around her body like a boa constrictor, leaving her with one free arm. "Now hold still. I usually leave my victims with enough blood to live, but today I think I will take it all."

"You're right about that," said the Queen. "But it's not my blood you'll be taking." She snapped the fingers on her free hand. Below them, in the atrium, a woman appeared in a puff of smoke. She was completely disoriented, looking about the room. "It's hers."

“Where am I? What's happening?” The woman got up and explored the atrium, trying to make sense of what had happened.

She spotted Carmilla and the Queen and began walking toward them. She was beautiful and blonde, dressed like a noble from Ingary. "Hello! Can you tell me where I am?" When she got a better look at Carmilla, she smiled and broke into a run. “Milla! You found me! I knew you'd come!”

Carmilla looked in horror at the girl coming toward her. It was Laura, exactly who she didn't want to see. “Stay away!” Carmilla shouted, warping the stairs so Laura couldn't follow them up. “Please, schatzi, don’t come any closer. It's not safe!”

"I know you didn't mean to harm me. I tried telling Father but he wouldn't listen!" Laura watched as Carmilla tried to scramble away. "I know you, Milla. You'd never hurt me. You have no idea how much I missed you.”

The visceral pain upon seeing Laura brought Carmilla to her knees. It burned from her gut out through her limbs. It only lessened when she crawled back in Laura’s direction.

"I missed you too, darling, so much. Now, please, get away. I'm not in control. If you don't leave..." Carmilla cried out in agony. She got closer to the edge of the stairs, trying and failing to restrain herself. "Go, now!"

Laura backed up, but she didn't want to leave Carmilla while she was weak and hurting. "What's happening to you? Please tell me! No one tells me anything!" Carmilla's agony was bringing Laura to the edge of tears.

The Queen snickered as the rug loosened its grip. She summoned Carmilla's Storybook. “It’s this book I’m afraid. It wants her to complete her story. Laura, right? Your girlfriend here is about to fly into an unstoppable bloodlust and attack you, just like she did back in Styria. Now, the book never says if you survive. However, considering that she spent the better part of a decade honing her vampire powers, I’m going to wager you won’t.”

Laura began to panic, looking for an exit. “Milla, what is she talking about?” asked Laura, feeling for the door. She pulled at the handle. It was locked. The Queen had locked all the doors, just like when she set Jekyll and Hyde upon each other.

"It's true," Carmilla moaned, reluctantly inching toward Laura. "You need to run."

“Whether she survives or not isn’t important, not to me at least,” said the Queen. “See, you’re also going to have an angry mob on your hands. It says so right here. They’re going to drive a stake through your heart, cut off your head, incinerate you, and pour your ashes into the nearest river. Ooh, there’s no kill like overkill.”

“You monster!” spat Carmilla, trying to resist the pull toward Laura.

“You’re the monster, sweetie,” the Queen shot back. “Now, I can end this all right now if you be a good girl and open the portal for me. Can you do that?”

Carmilla thought about it. The Queen was a treacherous snake, but what did she stand to lose by cooperating? She couldn't bear hurting Laura. As the bloodlust drew nearer, she began losing her faculties. She had to make a choice.

“You better hurry up and decide,” the Queen continued. “I don’t know how long these things take to kick in, but I’m guessing you’ve only got about a minute before you lose control and start lapping up all that delicious, vitamin-rich blood of hers.”

“You won’t let me die,” said Carmilla. “You have no other way to reach the Dark Realm. You need me. And if you make me kill her, I’ll throw myself to the mob and let them destroy me before the blood moon even has the chance to rise.”

The Queen stepped down from the grand staircase. "You're smart," she said. "Too smart. All right then, have it your way." She cast a spell outside, raising the wards again. She teleported behind Laura and held a knife at her throat. "There's no mob to kill you, just you and me and _schatzi_ here. And, for good measure, I’ll make you drink her blood even after she's dead."

Carmilla couldn't bear it anymore. She had no choice. She had to submit to the Queen. "Laura, I love you."

"I love you too," cried Laura, feeling cold metal against her throat. "I've never been afraid of you, not for a moment. I know you."

Before Carmilla could agree to the Queen's demands, a knife came flying through the air and struck the Queen's hand. She hissed in pain, releasing her own blade. Blood dripped from the cut onto the ground.

Regina appeared behind them, grabbed Laura, and took her away in another cloud of smoke. Emma emerged from the shadowed hall. Behind her was Jim, pulling out another knife to throw.

"It's over, Queenie," said Emma. "Let Carmilla go."

"How did you get in here?" the Queen demanded, stomping her foot.

Regina reappeared. "We expected you to drop the wards again," she said. Jim pulled out Hank's new and improved signal jammer. Jefferson jingled his ring of keys. "This time we were prepared."

"We're not going to hurt you," said Emma to Carmilla. She was poised to blast the Queen to kingdom come. "We made a mistake, coming after you like that. I'm sorry. We're your friends and we want to help you. Please, come with us."

Clutching her bleeding hand, the Queen stormed over, intent on abducting Carmilla again. Emma reached into her jacket and pulled out, not a stake, but a taser. She tossed it to Carmilla, who grabbed hold of it and thrust it at the Queen's stomach. Once again, the Queen was sent to the floor convulsing.

When she got up, she tried to teleport herself and Carmilla away, but was left without a drop of magic. Three bats flew through the hall and transformed in front of her, making a barricade between her and their master. Verona, Marishka, and Vasilica had come to the rescue.

"Stop right there," said Verona, baring her fangs. "Lay another hand on her and we'll drain every last drop of blood from your veins!"

"That's not an empty threat," said Jim, reminding her of Nadir.

The De Villes got a look at the Queen's already bleeding hand. Jim could hear their lips smacking. Carmilla crawled toward the safety of the group while her followers encroached on the incapacitated Queen. The Queen tried to escape, but she lacked the magic to unseal the doors.

"Should we stop them?" Emma asked, as the vampires chased after her.

"Not unless you want to be next," Carmilla advised. Jefferson helped her to her feet.

As the De Villes inched closer, the Queen screamed, "This is not over! Not by a long shot!"

Emma, Killian, Jim, Jefferson, Regina, David, and Carmilla stood and watched with morbid fascination as the three vampires overpowered the Queen. They sank their teeth into her flesh. Some of them looked away. Others like Jim were two shocked and appalled to take their eyes off it.

As they drained her blood, something strange began to happen. The Queen began to dissolve into flaky bits of ash, not unlike the remains of Hyde. They swirled through the air above them, wafting down the hall and out the open door. Soon the De Villes were left holding nothing but her extravagant dress.

"That's never happened before," Vasilica said disappointedly, as the blood on his hands evaporated away.

"I think I'm going to be sick," said Marishka, holding her palm in front of her mouth. She choked out ash.

"Really? _You're_ going to be sick?" Emma said to them, repulsed by their feeding frenzy.

Everyone was left too nauseated by the experience to talk any more about it. Carmilla told her followers that she was going to go with Emma to ensure Laura's safety. The De Villes, while still not understanding their master's choices, respected them. They disappeared into the night as Carmilla was escorted to David's car.

They brought Carmilla into the Sheriff's Department and quickly shut the door. Emma found her a chair while David locked up. Regina, Killian, Jim, and Jefferson waited as Carmilla got settled in. She was still reeling and the incident at the mansion left her feeling quite famished. Emma brought her a bottle filled with something red.

"Is that blood?" Regina asked disgustedly, taking the words right out of Jim's mouth.

"Hyde had bottles of it back at the mansion," Emma explained. "We were going to throw it out. It's medical waste. He must have had it on hand for her."

Carmilla took the bottle and inhaled the contents. She didn't even care who it belonged to. She handed the empty bottle back to Emma, licking her lips. She took a deep breath as the color started returning to her cheeks.

“Thank you for rescuing us,” said Carmilla, trying her best to calm down. “Where is Laura? Is she safe?”

Regina took a seat next to her. Carmilla flinched upon seeing the Queen's likeness. “You don't need to worry about her. Laura's safe. I took her to-"

“No! Don’t tell me! It’s better that I don't know,” she said insistently. “Laura will only be in more danger. Take her far, far away from me. Please!”

“Why?” Emma asked. “What’s going to happen?”

“It’s the book," Carmilla explained, pointing to the Storybook. They took it with them when the Queen disappeared. "When I get near her, it compels me to attack. Then when I’m finished killing her, you will all rise up and kill me.”

“We’re not going to hurt you,” Emma assured her. "I promise."

Carmilla wasn't so easily reassured. “You won’t have a choice.”

"Tell us then. Why were you working with Hyde?" Emma asked. "What did he promise you? We swore that we'd help Erik. We can help you too." Carmilla shook her head. She didn't believe her. "What's your story? We can't help you if you don't tell us."

Carmilla slowly turned her head to look at all of them. She looked at Jim, who was looking on with concern. She trusted Jim. If Jim trusted the others, then so did she. “You really want to know? Fine. I'll tell you." Carmilla began her story. They all pulled up a chair and listened intently.

"Long ago, there was a vampire named Countess Mircalla Karnstein, the first vampire in all of Styria. Her family was driven from their ancestral home on suspicion of witchcraft. She called upon the powers of the Dark Realm and, after she had been hung as a witch, she rose from her grave as a vampire. Centuries later, she came to feed on me, unknowingly transforming me into one as well.”

Killian was confused. “Didn’t Gold say you need to have the vampire’s blood for that to happen?” he asked, scratching his head with his hook.

“I was her heir. I already carried the vampire’s blood,” Carmilla revealed. “She merely needed to awaken it.”

"So Cruella really could have been a vampire," Emma concluded. "That might have been worse than her as the Dark One. No offense."

Carmilla didn't taken any offense. "No, you are right," said Carmilla. "I could have easily been a monster like her. There were enough generations between Mircalla and I. I have may not have claimed as many lives as Cruella, but I have born guilt like she could never know."

Carmilla continued on. Everyone was astounded by her tale. She skimmed over the part about Laura. That they already knew, and Jim could tell it hurt her badly to describe. He couldn't help feeling kinship with Carmilla, even more so than Ruby or Dorothy. She had suffered so much and gone to such great lengths for love.

They passed the Storybook to Jim. He looked at the illustration of Laura. It was the blonde girl from the inn. He saw her the day before in the stairwell. He didn't get a good look at her in the mansion. Regina vanished her away so quickly. Jim swore not to tell anybody, not even Jefferson, for Carmilla's sake.

Jim noticed how Emma was listening intently, completely non-judgmental. When Carmilla struggled, she took her hand. Emma didn't even shudder at how cold her hand must be. Nothing about Carmilla repulsed her, least of all her love for Laura. Suddenly irritated, Jim turned to Killian. He watched him as he watched Emma and Carmilla. Was it clear now? Was he not convinced? As far as Jim was concerned, Killian was officially out of excuses.

“When Mircalla was put to death and Laura was taken away, I began a journey to seek out others like me," Carmilla said, reaching her conclusion. "My search brought me to Transylvania, to the last remnant of the clan led by Count Dracula. His followers were in hiding after his death. Recognizing the power I inherited from Mircalla, they made me their new Master. With Dracula’s books, I learned magic and I became more powerful than Mircalla and Dracula combined.”

Carmilla got very quiet, her eyes downcast. “But unlike them, I did not desire power. The only power I sought was to return me to human form, that I might once again be with my Laura. Until then, I will always be a danger to her. The book guarantees it.”

No one had any comforting words to offer her. Emma suggested consulting Nick. Maybe there was some way to lift it. "The Queen already spoke to the Author," Carmilla said. "What's written has been set in stone." Carmilla asked to once again be restrained. Until Laura was far away, she couldn't move about freely.

Just before they shut inside her coffin, Jim had something he wanted to say. "I'm sorry, Carmilla, about all this. I promise I'm going to do whatever I can to help you."

"And if you can't?" asked Carmilla. "What then? I nearly killed her, Jim." She started to cry. Her arms were bound. She couldn't even dry her eyes. Jim found a tissue and wiped her tears away.

"Well, then odds are pretty good I can't be helped either. Do you like to travel?" Jim asked her. "Because my backup plan right now is to just wander the globe till something finally kills me. I could use a travel buddy."

Carmilla laughed through her tears. "I would be in too much pain," she said sadly, "but I appreciate the offer."

Jim watched as David and Killian bolted Carmilla's coffin shut and hauled it away. Jefferson tapped him on the shoulder. It was time for his shift. If Jim wanted a ride back home, they had to go now. They said their goodbyes and walked out to Jefferson's car.

"So what was worse, hearing Jekyll murder Hyde or watching the vampires turn the Queen to dust?" Jim asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"They were both horrific in such viscerally different ways," said Jefferson, thinking it over. "Although, a sick part of me did enjoy watching the Evil Queen reduced to ash without her magic, even if it's just temporary. She will be back."

Jim nodded. He knew. When they returned home, Jefferson confiscated Jim's weapons again. Then he changed his clothes, showed Jim how to operate the microwave and Netflix, and took off for The Rabbit Hole. Jim settled in with his frozen dinner and started watching that _Game of Thrones_ show that he'd heard Killian talk about.

When Jefferson came home, he found Jim passed out on the couch. The television was still on, casting a glow over Jim's face. Jim had also found his way into the liquor cabinet like some rebellious teenager. Jefferson decided to find that cute. He put a blanket over Jim and turned off the TV.

At about 10 AM, Jim was still fast asleep. Jefferson came in to get himself some breakfast. He noticed a little drool on Jim's pillow. He decided to also find that cute, if a little gross. Then he found Jim's phone buzzing on the floor. He must have dropped it when he dozed off. Jefferson picked it up. There was a single text on the lock screen that made his blood run cold.

 

**Regina Mills**

She has the hearts.


	20. Best Wishes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With her best laid plans ruined, the Evil Queen resorts to drastic measures. She raises the dead and sets them upon Storybrooke, demanding that Emma, Regina, and the others hand over Aladdin's lamp. They struggle against the undead horde, but quickly find themselves outnumbered and overwhelmed. Jim does his best, but finds that once again his actions have had greater, darker consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CONTENT WARNING: Because this chapter contains zombies, there is standard zombie-related violence. I do my best to keep things from getting too gruesome.

_"Do you know what you wish? Are you certain what you wish is what you want?"_ \- "Cinderella at the Grave", _Into the Woods_

* * *

 

“She has the hearts,” Jim read aloud, later that morning. “What does that even mean?”

”I’m not sure exactly,” said Jefferson. “It sure as hell didn’t take her long to reform though. I’ve seen Regina’s collection. She has over a hundred hearts that she brought over from the Enchanted Forest. I don’t know what she plans on doing with them. The people they belong to should all be dead by now.”

”I’m going to call Emma,” Jim told him. He dialed her up, but all she could tell him was that they were meeting at Granny’s for breakfast to discuss their next steps.

Jim sprang off the couch and into action. He returned fully dressed and ready to go. “Would you mind giving me a ride to Granny’s?” he asked, hating to be a burden.

Jefferson finished his toast. “No problem. I’m working an early shift anyway.”

Soon Jim reclaimed his weapons from the safe and they were off. As they drove along the winding road, Jim said, “I’m sorry you got dragged into all that mess with Carmilla yesterday.”

”Don’t worry about it,” Jefferson replied. “It’s the most action I’ve seen in a while. It was worth it to watch the Queen get devoured by vampires.”

Jim laughed. “You must have lived a pretty exciting life before you came to Storybrooke,” said Jim.

Jefferson pursed his lips. “You could say that,” he returned, trying to be careful how much he revealed. “Before I had Grace, I used to be a thief. I’d go from world to world stealing rare items and selling them to the highest bidder. Every day was an adventure. Then Grace came along and life became a completely different adventure. Now I don’t have either of those things anymore.”

”I’m sorry, Jeff,” said Jim sympathetically, relating deeply. “You'll get her back. I know you will.”

”I had hoped that I could take her traveling with me before she went off to college, but the odds of that seem pretty slim now,” said Jefferson despondently.

The two men, both feeling adrift, parked down by The Rabbit Hole and walked up the street to Granny’s. Jefferson grabbed Jim’s stuff and said goodbye. He told him to be safe. Jim couldn’t get over how sweet that was.

He found Emma, Killian, Snow, Regina, and Henry sitting down for a late breakfast. Jim joined them and ordered himself a bowl of oatmeal. They got straight to business.

Regina was right in the middle of her story. “So Adam and I go into the room where we were keeping the hearts and every single one of them was gone.”

”What would she want with them?” Snow asked, feeding Neal a spoonful of food.

”Their owners are all dead,” said Regina, lacking answers. “Frankenstein told me himself. He wanted to destroy them and put their souls to rest.”

Snow and Emma glanced at each other. They both had the same thought. “What about the bodies? Where are they?” asked Emma.

”How should I know? They’re probably littered around the Enchanted Forest,” Regina said, her tightening posture indicating more shame. “Why?”

”When we went back to the Enchanted Forest the first time, remember how we ran into Cora?” Snow asked, treading lightly.

Cora. There was that name again. Jim was glad Jefferson wasn’t around for this conversation. He might get upset. Somehow, that woman was linked to Jefferson's episode in the woods.

”I remember,” said Killian, suddenly smiling. “That was when we first met. Heh. Good times.”

”Remember what Cora did with all those hearts she gathered at the encampment?” Emma asked him, not feeling particularly sentimental.

Killian’s eyes lost their sparkle. “Aye. I had serious reservations about working with after that.”

Jim was starting to get tired of being out of the loop. “What happened? What did she do?” he asked them.

Emma was about to answer, but then she got a call on her phone. She stepped into the other room to take it.

Someone outside the diner screamed. Everyone else turned and saw swarms of people running down the street. They all rushed to the porch to see what was going on. Jim took out his spyglass and handed it to Killian.

“Bloody hell,” Killian said, looking at an advancing humanoid mass. He pointed to show Jim. “That’s what she did! She raised the fucking dead!”

Jim looked for himself. He saw a grotesque, shambling hoard of corpses. They were dressed in maggot-eaten peasant clothes, leftovers from the Enchanted Forest.

Emma emerged from the diner and looked up the street. She had just gotten a distress call. “I’m afraid you were right, love,” said Killian. “Zombies. God, that sounds ridiculous to say.”

After a brief catatonia, Emma screamed and kicked over a chair. Neal started crying, upset by his sister’s outburst. Everyone briefly forgot about the hoard of monsters thanks to Emma’s sudden rage.

”It just never fucking ends! First it was Thomas, then the Phantom. Yesterday, we had to deal with a whole squad of vampires. I can’t take this anymore!” Emma ranted, clutching at her hair.

Killian put his hand on her shoulder, eyes locked on the mob of the undead. “Love, I know we’ve had a difficult month.”

”Month? It didn’t start with Hyde!” Emma continued. “It was the Underworld. Before that, it was Camelot. The Snow Queen tried to make us kill each other. We both went back in time. Pan abducted Henry. Cora came...”

”Would you rather I didn’t come with her?” asked Killian, trying to bring Emma out of her meltdown.

Emma sighed and fell into his arms. “Of course not. But is it ever going to end? Why does it always have to be us who have to fix things? I was only supposed to break one curse! I never signed up for any of this. I just want us to have a normal life.”

Regina came over to give Emma some tough love. “Your mother is Snow White. You’re dating Captain Hook. Your life is never going to be normal. Like it or not, you’re the Savior.”

”Well, sometimes I wish I wasn’t,” said Emma. She turned to Snow, who was trying to soothe Neal. “Sometimes I wish I had gotten to grow up with you and Dad and I didn’t have to worry about any of this.”

”Wouldn’t that have been nice?” said Regina, from inside the diner. It was the Queen, hovering over Henry. The other patrons were cowering in fear. “Sorry I had to go and spoil it for you.”

They went inside to confront her. Killian and Jim got to work barricading the door against the zombies, who were slowly but surely making their way toward them. The others in the diner were too petrified to be of any help.

"Look who’s back in one piece,” said Regina. “Feeling a little light-headed?”

"I'm not going to forget that you let Cruella's cousins eat me for lunch. We’ll see how you like it in a minute," said the Queen. Emma took out her taser gun and fired it, but the Queen opened her bodice to reveal a shock proof vest. The Queen laughed at her. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me three times, well, I'm not that stupid."

She waved her hand and Emma’s gun dissolved into bubbles. “I’m glad you figured everything out, so I can cut right to the chase. Because you took away my vampire, I’ve had to come up with a Plan B. Word has it, Aladdin’s a genie now. I want you to find him and bring his lamp to my office. I’m not giving you a deadline this time. These monsters won’t stop ravaging the city until that lamp is in my hand. Understand?”

”We’re not giving you a damn thing,” Regina told her firmly.

”I think you’ll see things differently once people start turning. The spell I've put on those hearts only multiplies,” said the Queen, unfazed. "All these people? They're all going to be zombie food if you don't meet my demands."

Jim took a good look at the people crouched down in booths, avoiding eye contact with the Queen. He saw them quake in her presence. This really used to be Regina, and no one had forgotten. Parents held tight to their children. Snow was keeping Neal shielded from her. Everyone was afraid they or someone they loved might die. 

This was especially true for Emma and Regina, watching the Queen approach Henry again. “Henry, dear, I’m so sorry I haven’t been around as much as I should have been lately. Mommy’s been busy, but I want you to know that I fully intend on making it up to you.”

”What?” Henry asked, confused. “What do you mean?”

The Queen gave him a pat on the head. “I’m not about to let you get hurt with all these monsters running around. What kind of mother would I be?” she said, putting her arm around him. “I never would have sent those sirens if I knew you were on that ship. I suppose I ought to thank Jim for meddling around in that one.”

That really set Regina off. “Get your hands off him! You are _not_ his mother,” she informed her, seeing red.

“Oh yes, I am. I'm just as much his mother as you are and certainly more so than Emma is,” the Queen returned. “Which half of us got Henry out of Neverland? It sure wasn't the half who has remorse.”

"You’re also the one behind that poisoned apple turnover, so don’t act like you’re somehow Mother of the Year,” Regina shot back.

"That’s enough. Henry, get your things together. We’re leaving,” said the Queen. “The zombies are coming and it’s too dangerous here for someone your age.”

She said that as if a full-grown adult would be completely safe in a zombie's presence. Henry reluctantly zipped up his bag. He didn’t look afraid. Jim had to admire that. He was a lot like him as a kid - defiant, determined, maybe a little too sure of himself. Henry wasn't blindly obeying her. He knew what he was doing.

Regina and Emma were not as convinced. “Henry!” they called out in unison.

”Mom! _Both of you_ ,” Henry addressed them. “I'll be fine. She’s not going to hurt me.”

”And how do you know that?” Regina asked, trying to make her son see reason.

Henry looked her straight in the eye. “Because she’s you. Don't worry about me. Focus on stopping the zombies. Don't give her the lamp!”

Emma and Regina couldn’t argue with that. “Fine! Go!” Regina urged him against her better judgment. “Be safe. And if there is so much as a scratch on him-“

”I’d be more worried about yourself,” said the Queen. “So long!” She took Henry and they disappeared. Henry pointed to the window behind them as he vanished into the air.

”I can’t believe I just let her take him,” said Regina, not realizing he was trying to get their attention. Something broke through the window, causing several people to shriek. It was the arm of a rotting old cadaver, desperately trying to claw its way in.

”Why the hell did I throw away my sword?” Jim groaned. He ran into the fireside room of the inn and came back with an axe. He swung it at the crook of the creature’s arm. With a crunch, he sliced the bony arm in half.

Emma, Regina, and Killian took a break from being scared to be impressed. “I ran into some guys like these outside of Tortuga,” Jim explained. “Although those were a bit more talkative.”

”What do we do?” Emma asked in a panic. “Do we fight? Do we hide? How many of them are there?”

Killian looked out a different window. “Enough to obscure my view of the street.” The severed forearm grabbed ahold of his leg. Jim stomped on it till it stopped moving.

Ruby, Dorothy, Granny, and Floyd the cook rushed in from the kitchen, each carrying cooking implements as weapons. They’d been helping the other patrons get to safety. “Good thinking, Jim,” said Granny when she saw the axe.

Granny shut all doors leading into the inn. They had already warned all guests to stay in their rooms upstairs. Nadir and Darius were hopefully shut safely inside the loft.

Everybody else grabbed an improvised weapon and got ready to give the zombies hell. Before they opened the door, Emma went over to the jukebox.

”What are you doing?” Jim asked. This did not seem like the time for music.

”If we’re going full _Shaun of the Dead_ here, we might as well do it right,” she said with a shrug. She put on a song called “Ballroom Blitz.” “It’s not Queen, but it’ll do.”

As the jukebox roared to life, Emma said to everyone, “Remember, aim for the brain. You guys get them on the ground. Dorothy, Regina, and I will shoot them in the head. Hook, let one inside.”

Killian nodded. He opened the door and knocked the first zombie to the floor with his fist. Dorothy shot an arrow straight through its skull. Killian shut the door again, keeping out any others for the time being. 

It appeared that zombie was down for the count. Then they heard a gurgling in its throat as it staggered back to its feet. The arrow was lodged deep in its forehead, but it still kept moving.

”Oh shit,” said Emma. “Maybe that’s not how these guys work.”

Jim took his axe and cut the head clean off. There wasn’t a lot of tissue to break through. It tumbled into a booth. The body began wandering aimlessly while the head chattered like a windup toy on the floor. 

“They don’t stop,” said Regina. She sent a blast of magic that vaporized the skull. Emma blasted the creature’s knees to keep it from moving around. 

The door rattled. The other zombies were trying to get in. Everyone looked to each other, trying to decide whether to fight or run. A fist punched through the glass on the door.

”Ruby, is the alley clear?” asked Emma. Ruby ran to check. They had a path of escape. “We need to get out of here.”

”We can’t just let them destroy the place! There’s people here!” Jim told her. The mass of zombies kept piling up against the door.

Killian took out his phone. “I’ve got an idea, but it's a long shot,” he said, dialing. Shortly afterward, the bells of the clock tower began to ring. “Quasimodo’s creating a diversion. Lucky, he happened to be perusing the library. I'm not sure Belle could have done it herself in her condition. They're going to hide in the catacombs beneath the library, so we still don’t have much time.”

Regina sighed. “That would have been the perfect place to hide out.”

The door flew open. The mass of zombies fell on top of each other as they crawled inside, but the ones behind them started moving in the direction of the bells. Emma and Dorothy shot each one of them right in the head, but they still kept moving. Those alive all ran for the back door.

Behind them, Floyd yelled. "He bit my ankle! Shit!" He screamed again and fell. Emma ran back inside, sending blasts of magic at the monsters overwhelming Floyd. They wouldn't back down. "Forget about me! Go!" he yelled. He coughed and sputtered as his eyes began to glow.

Emma ran back out, practically dragging Ruby and Dorothy along with her. "It's too late for him. We have to move!" Ruby was reluctant to leave, then she saw a slack-jawed, bloody Floyd stagger toward her. Emma blasted him off his feet. "That was a quick turnaround."

They abandoned the now-enchanted Floyd and fled from the diner. As they sprinted down the alley, Jim remembered something of grave importance. He skidded to a halt. The undead horde was heading straight for Jefferson at The Rabbit Hole. 

“Go on without me! I’ll catch up!” Jim hollered. Killian looked at him strangely. “Jefferson’s down the street. I’ve gotta warn him.”

Killian looked from Jim to Emma. “Emma, don’t worry about us. We’ll be along in a minute.” Jim was astonished. Killian actually chose him over her.

Emma grabbed him and kissed him before breaking into a run. “Be safe.”

Jim and Killian dashed in the opposite direction. Floyd was beginning to stir. Jim delivered a roundhouse kick to his head. They reached The Rabbit Hole’s rear entrance and opened the door. Inside, three zombies had made their way into the bar and were attacking patrons.

The manager was ineffectively fending them off with a broom. Izzy had broken a bottle over the counter and was brandishing it at them. Jefferson grabbed a gun from beneath and shot one right between the eyes. Where did he learn how to shoot like that? Jefferson swore loudly when the zombie got back off the ground.

”Jefferson! Izzy!” Jim called to them. “They’re not gonna stay down! You need to come with us!”

Someone howled. They looked back as two zombies started chowing down on their manager. Jim didn’t need to tell them twice. Horrified and disgusted, Jefferson guided everyone left alive out into the alley to safety.

He didn’t leave until everyone else was out the door. This gave the manager, eyes glowing, ample time to charge at him. Jim took his axe and hurled it at the man, lodging it in his shoulder and sending him to the floor.

”Thanks,” said Jefferson, breathlessly. He looked at his boss, mindless and hissing through the pain. He never liked him much, but he certainly didn't deserve this.

”Any time,” Jim told him, dragging him away from the scene. “I guess the live ones still can feel pain.”

Killian got a text from Emma. They were all going to regroup at the hospital. Snow was going to wake up David and then they’d make a plan of attack. The throng ran in all directions, but Jim, Jefferson, Killian, and Izzy stayed together.

When they got to the hospital, a tall handsome man in a uniform like David’s was waiting for them. Jim was distracted by the impressive sword he had in his scabbard. He really missed his sword. He couldn't stop kicking himself for losing it.

"Lancelot?” said Killian, surprised. “Mate, you don’t know how glad I am to see you.”

Lancelot crossed his arms. “So, Gwen and I take a few weeks to go on our honeymoon and suddenly the whole town’s fallen to shit. I dropped by the station this morning. Happy told me everything. I called Emma and she told me to wait for you out here.”

"Thank you. We need all the help we can get,” said Killian. “Oh, Lance, this is Jim, Jefferson, and Tinker Bell. Sorry, _Isabelle_.”

Lancelot wasn’t paying attention. He was too busy drawing his sword to slice off the head of a zombie coming up behind them. He broke its legs and threw it in a nearby dumpster. Jim was unnerved by how efficient he was. “Let’s go inside. We need to shut these damned sliding doors off.”

The lot of them hurried inside. Within the hospital, patients and nurses alike were freaking out as they tried to get to secure locations. Out of all places in Storybrooke, the hospital had to be the most populated and the most vulnerable.

"This might not be the best place to hide out,” Jim said, observing the chaos.

"Maybe not,” said Lancelot. “But we can reevaluate that once David is up and Snow is secure.”

As they neared the room, David emerged. Upon seeing Lancelot, he ran over and gave him a big brotherly hug. “You have no idea how glad I am to see you,” said David, echoing Killian. Lancelot presented David with his gun and his sword. "The past three weeks have been a nightmare. What are these for?"

”You must have just woken up. Did they not tell you?” asked Killian. David shook his head. Killian explained the situation. Their nightmare had worsened.

David grabbed his sword. “We need to get out there and put these things back in the ground. There’s no way we can let her get her hands on that lamp.”

As they headed back to the main entrance, they saw a woman with golden locks and a nasty arm wound being carried into the hospital by three burly men in flannel. Jim was fairly sure he knew what was happening next.

“One of those monsters bit her,” said the largest man at the check-in desk. “Her name’s Goldie Locksley. You might know her from the radio. We found her in front of The Honey Pot. We got out of there, but she started getting these pains in her chest and we don’t know why.”

The woman tried to stand, but fainted as soon as her feet touched the floor. The other men caught her. She gasped as light began to radiate from her chest, pulsing like a heartbeat. When she got up, her eyes were glowing.

Breaking out her friends’ arms, she tried to claw at them. David tried to intervene and she darted toward him in any  frenzy. He sidestepped her, tripped her, and knocked her over again.

”What the hell?” said Lancelot, drawing his sword. This sent the three men into a panic. They held back Lancelot before he could reach her.

David struggled to keep the woman pinned down. "Easy, Lance! The curse must be transferable,” he said, examining her. He felt her pulse as he held back her arms. “She’s still alive.”

”It’s like the Queen said,” Killian confirmed. “They’re passing the enchantment onto whomever they come in contact with. Alive or dead, they all become her puppets.”

The three large men let Lancelot go. He lowered his sword. He’d been ready to hack poor Goldie’s head clean off. “What are we supposed to do with the live ones then?”

Emma, Regina, Ruby, and Dorothy came back from wherever Snow had been taken. Neal was with her, both of them under the watchful eye of Granny and her crossbow. When they saw David wrestling with the newly made zombie, they had a few questions.

”We have to get her out of here,” said Emma. “She could infect the whole hospital.” With no other option, Emma cuffed her. Goldie’s friends insisted on being the ones to carry her kicking and screaming to the psych ward, where they locked her away in a reinforced cell.

“Hopefully, when this is all over, we can get her back to normal,” Emma told the guys. She left them there to watch over her in great distress.

The group - which had grown to be quite large - got together in the cafeteria to think of a plan. The workers were hiding in the kitchens, so they weren’t able to get snacks. Two things were absolute imperatives. They had to find Aladdin and make sure the lamp was secure. They also had to end this zombie infestation without giving in to the Queen.

”It’s the Queen’s magic,” Regina said. “We have to get her to remove the enchantment somehow. Even if we destroyed all the original zombies ourselves, they’re still infecting other people. Soon we’ll be killing live civilians.”

David and Emma both shook their heads. “No way,” said David. “We’re not letting that happen.”

”Then we’d better be quick,” said Killian, glancing out the window. “It looks like more are on their way.”

Everyone turned to look. A horde of zombies, living and dead, fast and slow, were approaching the building. Some of them even looked familiar. They couldn’t just abandon the place. Too many lives were at stake. The group rushed out to defend the hospital and found themselves heavily outnumbered.

“Take out the dead ones,” David directed, strategizing on the fly. “Incapacitate the live ones. Kill only if your life is in danger. These people are our friends.”

Jim wasn’t quite as attached, but he’d still prefer to avoid killing anybody. They rushed in. David and Lancelot slashed through the dead with their swords, breaking them into harmless fragments. Jefferson and Dorothy slowed them by kneecapping them with their gun and bow. Emma and Regina blasted live ones into the air with magic.

The fight didn’t last long before they were overwhelmed. Regina was running low on magic. Dorothy and Jefferson were out of ammo. Jim could only be so useful knocking monsters back with a crowbar he found. David ordered everyone back into the hospital, but several of them were completely encircled. This included Jefferson and Jim.

“We’re trapped,” said Lancelot, getting ready to kill the living for the sake of their own survival.

”It was really nice knowing all of you,” said Jim, confident that at least some of them were going to be turned, maybe even killed outright. “I guess this is one way to go out.” He looked over at Killian. They didn't say anything, but their eyes were both filled with regrets.

As more live zombies closed in, Jefferson was knocked to the ground. He tried to shoot, praying he might have one more bullet. Jim couldn’t save Jefferson, not this time. He was tied up with his own assailants. He felt more helpless thinking of Jefferson's life than his own.

"Jim, if I don't get out of this, please take care of Grace." Jefferson braced himself for death. Then a hand burst through the zombie’s chest, grabbing its heart and yanking it out. The body fell over, revealing none other than Victor Frankenstein holding a glowing heart in a clawed glove. He crushed it to dust.

”Victor!” Jefferson cried out. He got up and utterly glomped him, so happy to see him alive.

It took Victor a bit by surprise. “Jeff, relax!" he said as Jefferson started to crush him. "I’m glad to see you too.”

”I thought you were a goner,” said Jefferson. “How’d you get back from the Underworld?”

Victor sprinted over and destroyed the zombie that was terrorizing Jim. “Hades decided to let me go. Someone needed to take care of this mess up here.”

Jefferson looked back at the life Victor had taken to save him. “Vic... You know this guy was alive, right?”

Victor pointed to the man's neck. "See that gash on his jugular vein? If they lifted the spell, there's no way he'd survive the blood loss."

"There's no way you knew that when you were reaching through his chest _from behind_ ," Jefferson added.

”I didn’t like doing it,” Victor said in his own defense, “but he would have killed you. What was I supposed to do?”

”I take it you forgive me then?” Jefferson asked, hurrying to the hospital's door.

Victor tore out the heart of another zombie threatening Lancelot. He crushed it in his fist. “This infection here would have been fatal," Victor justified. "You did what you had to do, Jeff. I can’t blame you for that.”

There were still more of the monsters, ones too healthy for Victor to justify destroying. Someone emerged from the hospital, someone large. Jim averted his eyes as the man cut through the mob, remorselessly dispatching the remaining people.

The snarling of the monsters stopped with a final crunch. Jim opened his eyes. There stood Adam Frankenstein, letting ashes from a heart drop from his hand. He wasn’t just any old monster. He was _the Monster_. The zombies didn’t stand a chance against him.

Soon there were no more enemies except those frozen by someone’s magic. Victor looked around at the newly deceased mixed in with the long dead. “We could have healed them, some of them at least,” Victor said, horrified. “These wounds aren't that bad.”

”Perhaps,” said Adam. “Or you could have let them endanger your other patients. The young, the pregnant, the elderly. You’d better contain the rest if you’re so intent on saving them.”

Victor directed the others to secure the remaining live ones with zip ties. They tossed them all in a storage room with a heavy metal door. Victor hastily taped a “Do Not Open” sign to the front.

He led them to his office, which Adam had been using as a secret bedroom in his absence. They all crowded in. Victor sat down at his desk and removed the gauntlet from his hand. It was hot in there with the lot of them packed in like sardines.

”I’m glad we all made it out of there safe, but can we avoid killing any of our neighbors from now on?” David said.

”My apologies for saving your lives,” said Victor sarcastically. “I don’t like it any more than you do, but in a zombie outbreak, it’s kill or be killed. I’m a doctor. I took the Hippocratic Oath, so know that I’m serious when I tell you how dire this is.”

”I agree with Victor,” said Adam. “I took no such oath, but as a cardiologist I’ve devoted my life to healing hearts. It pains me having to destroy them before their time.”

Being the only people with experience with the undead, they looked to Victor and Adam for their plan. “Adam was right all along,” said Victor. “While I was in the Underworld, the souls that have been trapped there started crying out in pain all at once. It was horrible. Persephone knew something was wrong up here, so she ordered Hades to send me back, provided I set things right.”

”What’s that thing you had on your hand?” asked Hook, pointing to Victor’s gauntlet.

”They’re called the Jaws of Ammut, from the days when Osiris ran the Underworld,” Victor explained. “They’re great for extracting and destroying hearts. Hades let me borrow them, provided I bring them back.”

Regina sat down on the edge of the desk. “So I take it you’ve got a plan?”

”Not one you're gonna like,” Victor said. “Now, there’s two basic ways to raise the dead. I’m not talking about Adam here. He’s fully alive, fully functional - the result of a lot of hard work on my part. I mean ambulatory corpses, no soul at all. This can be done either via infection or black magic - necromancy. Virally created zombies still have some body function and die when you destroy the brain."

“These creatures, however, aren’t like that," Adam continued for him. "They're meat puppets. The Queen is using their hearts to pull the strings. To destroy them, you have to destroy their hearts. Contact with them via blood passes the enchantment through the circulatory system, turning the victim into a drone even if they’re still alive. There’s no curing it while the magic is in effect and they’re only going to multiply.”

This was all extremely bad news. Emma let out a beleaguered breath. “So what do we do?”

”Give her what she wants,” said Victor bluntly. “Or else destroy the hearts and, if that doesn’t end the spell, kill every last infected person in town.”

”We can’t do that,” David insisted. 

“I may have been a bit hasty with Mr. Khan, I’ll admit,” said Victor. “But right now, people are out there turning and that means more and more mercy killings by the minute. The rate of transmission is going to be exponential. Soon there won’t be a Storybrooke left to save.”

They split up into two teams. Emma and Killian led a group to track down Aladdin. Adam and Victor would lead the charge to track down the hearts. Victor believed the Jaws of Ammut could guide them like some kind of metal detector. Hopefully, they could put an end to all of this without any bloodshed.

Jefferson grabbed Jim’s arm, startling him. “I need to find Grace. I need to protect her.” Jefferson ran away from the group down the hall.

Jim had no choice but to chase after him. “Jeff! Hold up!” Jim shouted. “What are you doing? You’re gonna get eaten alive out there!”

Jefferson shushed him. He was on the phone. “Thank you. I’m glad you got her home safe. Listen carefully. Barricade all the doors and windows. Get yourselves upstairs. Don’t make any noise and make sure you’ve got an escape route. You got all that? I’ll be there as soon as I can. Goodbye.” Jefferson tucked his phone away and turned to Jim. “That was Mr. Mason. They took Grace out of school and brought her home. She’ll be safe with them for now, I hope.”

”Good,” said Jim, reaching for him. “Now we can get you back inside. You have to keep safe too. You and Izzy don’t have to join us, but it’s way too dangerous for you to be out there alone.”

Jefferson shook his head. “No, I need to get home. I don’t trust those idiots to keep her safe. They don't even vaccinate their kids, Jim. Victor had to make a house call so I could get Grace a flu shot without them noticing.”

Jim didn't know what a vaccine was, but it sounded medical and therefore important. Nevertheless, Jefferson was being ridiculous. ”You left your car in town! What are you going to do? Walk?” Jim asked.

Jefferson just nodded and started in the direction of his house. Isabelle emerged from the women’s room to see him leaving. “Where the hell are you going?”

”Grace!” He didn’t even turn around.

Izzy rolled her eyes. “Once again, I'm stuck babysitting this jackass. Fine, but I’m coming too! I’m not letting you get eaten. You’ll wind up more brainless than you already are. You coming, Jim?”

Jim made up his mind. “Yeah, I’m coming.” The three of them, in their unofficial third party, began the trek to the Masons’ house to take care of Grace.

The walk was mostly uneventful. Jim cringed whenever he heard someone wailing in the distance. Once in a while, they’d have to hide from a passing monster, but fortunately zombies are exceptionally imperceptive.

When they reached their destination, they could hear high-pitched screaming from inside. It was Grace, among other young voices. Jefferson wasted no time busting down the door. The Masons were near the top of the stairs, eyes glazed and rabid. Mr. Mason had been bitten on the heel. Mrs. Mason had a fresh bite on her arm, presumably from her husband.

”You fucking idiots!” Jefferson roared, hurling a vase at their heads. “You don't even know how to keep your own kids safe, let alone mine! Jim, get a picture. This is going straight to the mayor's office.”

Jim snapped a few photos of the zombie Masons. He looked around their house. There was a massive wall of family pictures, hammered home by the word "family" painted in script above them. Jim had an instant revulsion to how saccharine and artificial it seemed. Every milestone in their children's lives was documented. Every captured smile was a cry for help. They had shelves of books dedicated to parenting, religion, and homeopathic medicine. Jim had never seen anything like it - a family so committed to being happy and so obviously not.

Their son had left a baseball bat lying around. Apparently, he was something of a local sports star. Jefferson picked it up and approached the stairs. The Mason parents came toward him. He raised the bat, then had second thoughts. “Grace would never forgive me. They’re her...” Jefferson couldn’t bring himself to say “parents.”

Before they could strike, two blasts of sparkling green magic sailed over their heads and struck the Masons in the chest. They froze in place right in front of Jefferson. Their mouths were open and poised to bite. Jim and Jefferson turned to see Isabelle holding a magic wand.

“I was able to convince Blue to let me have my wand back,” she said. “I figured it might come in handy.” She was the one who saved some of the bewitched citizens from Adam’s wrath.

Jefferson rushed past them, stopping to give the helpless Mr. Mason a well-earned punch to the face. “You really think you’re a better parent than me? That she’s better off with you? Self-righteous assholes.” He ran to Grace’s door. “Grace? It’s me, sweetie. It’s your dad. You’re safe now. Mr. and Mrs. Mason aren't going to hurt you. Can you open the door?”

The door jimmied open. There was Grace and the Mason children, scared out of their wits. Jefferson gave each of the frightened kids a hug.

”We’re gonna get you all out of here,” he told them. “You’ll be safe with us next door.”

”What about our parents?” said their eldest son, Tommy.

 _"What about them?"_ Jim thought. He was already hard at work tying them up with extra zip ties so they couldn’t move. After getting a good look at their home, he was enjoying the job. “We’re gonna throw them in the basement, lock the door, and we’ll come back for them later if we can fix them.”

” _When_ we can fix them,” Jefferson corrected, giving Jim a look. If he was honest, a tiny part of him wanted the Masons to stay in their current state.

Izzy levitated their bound bodies through the air to the basement door. “You know, when I got up this morning, I really wasn’t planning on _Cask of Amontillado_ -ing anybody.”

Jim didn’t get the reference, but he knew the feeling. They sealed the door and guided the children to Jefferson’s house. Izzy made a magical barrier around the house to make sure they stayed inside. When they brought the kids indoors and got them settled, Jefferson got a call. It was from Victor.

"I think we found the hearts," Victor said.

"That's great!" Jefferson said, letting out a long breath. "That is such a relief. The Masons are infected and, believe me, the irony is not lost on me. I almost had to bash their heads in to save Grace and their kids. If Izzy hadn't been there... Anyway, where are they?"

Victor sighed. "They're in a warehouse by the shoreline. The whole place is locked down tight. We sure could use an accomplished burglar right about now."

Jefferson looked over at Jim. Here they go again. "Well, you've got two of them just standing around over here. It might take us a while to get to you though. I don't have my car. Actually..." Jefferson had an idea. He sent Izzy next door to snatch the Masons' car keys. They wouldn’t be needing them any time soon.

When she got back, Jefferson had finished his call with Victor. Izzy handed him the keys and he took her aside to the secret door. “This is my, uh... panic room,” Jefferson told her quietly. “When you go in, a steel door will shut behind you. Nothing can get inside while you're in there. If you're in danger, take all the kids in there and shut the door. There's a code to get out underneath the table."

"Why do you have this?" Izzy asked, bewildered.

Jefferson didn't want to get into it. "Medication. Please don’t go inside unless you absolutely need to." Izzy asked no more questions. She understood.

Next, Jefferson went over to Grace. She was doing her best to keep the youngest Mason, a chubby blond preschooler named Spencer, away from thoughts about his zombified parents. Jim could tell she was quite emotionally intelligent for someone barely in their teens. She must get it from her father.

”Grace, honey, I have to leave now. Jim and I are going to help Uncle Victor put a stop to all this,” he said gently. “You and the others are going to be safe with Aunt Izzy. I’ll be back as soon as I possibly can.”

Jefferson and Grace hugged. He kissed the top of her head. He was acting like this would be the last time he’d ever see her, which Jim realized could very well be the case. There was something comforting about Jefferson saying "Uncle Victor." Their prolonged hug at the hospital left Jim feeling strange. Jealous? No. That didn't make any sense.

After their goodbyes, Jefferson got up and found his coat. He held out the Masons' keys. "Jim, come on. Wanna drive?" Jim perked up at the offer.

Jefferson really regretted giving Jim the keys to the Masons' van. "Watch out!" he yelled as Jim ran right over a person in the street. “You just hit that guy!”

"Relax! It was a zombie!" Jim said, laughing. "I think. I'm kidding! Look, it's getting back up. These things do not quit, do they?" Despite the harrowing circumstances, Jim was having a blast taking the Masons’ minivan for a joyride. He had never gotten to really experience driving. His glacially slow drive back from the mansion didn't count. Plus, the Masons really deserved to have their ride banged up a bit.

Jim followed Jefferson's directions past Main Street into a series of large abandoned buildings by the harbor. There was an obnoxious prism dangling from the rear view mirror that swung about with every sharp turn. They pulled up to the warehouse and saw Victor and Adam hiding in the shadows with Ruby and Dorothy.

Jim put the car in park. There were only a couple of dents and scratches on it. Jim mostly ignored stop signs and speed limits. Jim took a good look at the van's backside. It had a cutesy family of stick figures on the window and bumper stickers bragging about their children's accomplishments. For a brief second, Jim was actually glad to have been abandoned. These people were trying way too hard.

"All right. We're here," Jefferson announced, reeling from his ride with Jim. "Is this the place?"

Victor nodded. The six of them looked up at the old building where the hearts were being held. The windows were high up and the doors were solid steel.

”Shouldn’t be too hard,” said Jefferson, downplaying his anxiety. “I mean, it’ll be harder than your shitty security, but not by much.”

Victor rolled his eyes. “Just get us in there, find the hearts, and we'll do the rest.”

"Ready?" Jefferson said to Jim.

"Ready," Jim replied with resolve.

With a bit of effort, Jefferson and Jim were able to pull down the ladder to a fire escape. They climbed up and smashed their way inside. From above, Jim could see that the warehouse was built for storing fishing boats. If he recalled correctly, crustaceans were a major export in Maine.

Looking at them, he was reminded of how much he missed sailing. When he was sailing, he knew who he was. Breaking into buildings? Fighting zombies? Aside from that one time in Tortuga, that wasn't the Jim Hawkins he knew. Then again, he hadn't been that person for a long time.

He remembered that melody he sang with Jefferson during Erik's curse. He went looking for the songs Erik put into their mouths. Jim listened to them over and over again, wondering what they meant, what they had to do with him. One song stood out more than most. He knew he wasn't getting the words right, but under his breath, he recited, _"He'll fight just a little to bring back the fire in his eyes. It's been gone but it used to be mine."_

"What did you say?" asked Jefferson.

"Nothing," said Jim. Then he thought to himself, " _He is gone but he used to be mine."_ He thought those words would have been about Killian, but no. They were about Jim. Somewhere along the way he lost himself. He wondered if he'd ever be able to find himself again.

He and Jefferson made their way down from their perch to the ground level. That was relatively painless, but now it was dark and Jim had no idea where the hearts would be. Should they just start opening boxes? There ought to be a glow somewhere.

They tried to find the door to let the Frankensteins in, but it was difficult with the sun from the skylights providing the only light in the room. Jefferson eventually found it. Jim texted Victor to tell them where to go. The second that Jefferson unlocked the door, a woman’s voice snickered behind them.

”And just what do you think you’re doing here?” asked the Queen menacingly.

Jim and Jefferson both nearly fell down in sudden panic. “Nothing, Your Majesty!” Jefferson yelped. “Jim just wanted to see what a modern sailing vessel looked like.”

”So you brought him here? To see where they catch lobster? You’re a much better liar than that, Jefferson,” said the Queen. “And Jim. My patience is running thin with you. You're starting to outlive your use to me, so you really should watch your step. However, since you’re both clearly so interested in my plan, maybe you’d both like a front row seat to its conclusion.”

The Queen snapped her fingers and enveloped them in smoke. The last thing Jim saw was Victor’s look of shock as he peeked through the doorway. Then the room faded to black.

 

* * *

 

Emma, Regina, and Hook were sitting down with Aladdin and Jasmine in Aladdin's meager studio apartment. They had just finished telling them about the situation. On their way to find them, seeing all the death and destruction the Queen had already wrought, they all changed their minds. If Aladdin was willing, they had no choice but to give the Queen what she wanted.

"I'll do it," said Aladdin glumly, looking at the golden shackles now around his wrists.

Jasmine was beside herself. "Aladdin! You can't! What about Agrabah?"

“Jasmine, if I don’t give myself over to the Queen, what happened to Agrabah is going to repeat itself here,” said Aladdin. “It’ll be Mozenrath all over again. We can’t let that happen. The only reason we have the lamp in the first place is because I stole that wand for the Queen.”

"You did what?" Regina said angrily.

"The wand didn't bring the zombies to Storybrooke," said Emma, trying to calm her. "She didn't need his help for that."

"I knew she was bad news," said Aladdin. "But I figured you could handle her. I'm not from the Enchanted Forest. I didn't know about the Evil Queen, not much. I really fucked things up for you guys. I'm so sorry."

Regina got up and started pacing. "Sorry isn't going to fix this." Emma agreed, but she didn't say it. Aladdin was beating himself up as it was.

"I know. That's why I'll let you hand me over to her," said Aladdin. "It's the least I can do."

A tear rolled down Jasmine’s cheek. “I can’t lose you again! It took so long to find you the first time!” she cried, throwing her arms around him. Jasmine wept for a minute before composing herself. She didn't like it, but she knew what had to be done. “All right. Do what you need to do. We’ll figure something out."

"We always do,” said Aladdin, bittersweetly smiling. They kissed. Aladdin disappeared into the lamp. Jasmine picked it up and passed the lamp to Emma.

Holding Storybrooke's fate in her hands, Emma said, "Let's go."

 

* * *

 

When Jim rematerialized, he was standing in Regina’s office. Jefferson was beside him, equally shaken. The Queen was already seated in Regina’s chair, which she had transfigured into a throne. By her side was Henry, still looking defiant as hell. Beside him was Violet, looking petrified.

"Henry? Violet!" Jefferson said with concern. "What's she doing here?"

“Please, have a seat,” said the Queen. She waved her hand and the arms of two chairs reached out and grabbed them, binding them to their seat. They struggled but it was no use. "Violet is here for her own protection. If something happened to her, I would never hear the end of it."

”Let us go!” Jim demanded. The Queen muffled them with magic.

”I don’t think so,” the Queen replied. “You two are going to sit tight until your friends get here with that lamp I asked for. Judging by what’s going on outside, it won’t be too much longer.”

Henry looked at Jim. It was the first sympathetic look he ever got from Henry. Henry stood and faced his other mother. “Let them go!” he ordered her, reluctantly adding, “...Mom.”

The Queen smiled. “I’d love to, sweetheart, but these two insist on mucking up our plan. They're more than free to leave, once everything's said and done.”

"Emma and Regina are never going to hand over the lamp to you,” Henry told her with confidence.

The Queen pulled back the curtain. Outside, humans and zombies alike were running amuck in the streets. “I wouldn’t be so sure. Soon, half the town will either be dead or undead. Your goody two-shoes family isn’t going to let that continue, even if these two had managed to destroy the original hearts.” Good. She didn't know about Victor.

”You’re acting just like Cora!” Henry yelled at her. This kid was fearless. Jefferson, on the other hand, flinched. “This is something she would do. Do you really want to be like her?”

The Queen held back an icy glare. “I wouldn’t have to do this if your other mothers would just cooperate. Unfortunately, they’ve forced my hand. Blame Jim here. He’s the one who got Carmilla on their side.”

Henry was about to protest, but there was a call coming from the phone on Regina’s desk. “Hello?” she answered, aping pleasantness. “Oh, do you? That’s wonderful. Really? Fantastic. I’ll have the receptionist let you in. Henry? Oh, he's fine. He’s right here. Say hi to Emma, Henry.”

The Queen put the phone on speaker. Henry jumped up. “Mom, please! Do not hand over the lamp to her! You don’t know what she’ll do!”

”Everything’s going to be all right, Henry. I promise,” said Emma. She sounded nervous, but she was trying to be strong.

”But-!” Henry protested.

”Henry, trust us on this,” said Regina. “This is our only option. Everything is going to be okay.” Henry fell silent. There was no use screaming at them. They'd made up their minds.

”Thank you. That will be all. We'll see you both in a moment,” said the Queen, ending the call. “They’re right. Everything is going to be just fine. For us,” she said to Henry. Then she pressed a button on her intercom. "Jacqueline, darling, could you please show Miss Mills and Miss Swan into my office?"

Jim and Jefferson looked at each other. They failed. In mere moments, Emma and Regina were going to surrender the lamp. Then who knows what the Queen would do. A few minutes later, the door opened. In walked Emma, Regina, David, Killian, and Jasmine who was holding an old oil lamp. The Queen rose to greet them.

”I’m so glad you all decided to come around,” said the Queen, viciously happy. “Everyone will thank you in the long run. Now, where’s the lamp?”

Jasmine was about to present it, but Emma held her back. “How do we know you’re going to break the spell when we give it to you?”

The Queen withdrew a small box from a drawer in the desk. It emitted a rose-colored glow. She removed from it an enchanted heart. “The one heart holds the entire spell. Crush it and it's gone. The dead go back to the ground. The living go back to normal, if they survive. As a show of good faith, I’m going to let Jefferson here hold onto it.”

Jefferson reluctantly took the box. He tried tossing it to Emma, but the chair tangled around his arms. “Nice try,” said the Queen. “Not until I have the lamp.”

Emma took the lamp from Jasmine. Internally, she ruminated over this decision. Were there any other ways out? Taking a deep breath, she extended her hand out to the Queen. “You better not make me regret this,” said Emma with a fierce stare.

The Queen snatched it from her hand. “Oh, you won’t.” She stepped back and rubbed the lamp. Aladdin formed amidst them out of blue smoke. He looked unhappy but resigned to his fate.

”You got me,” he said morosely. “Now what do you want?”

”For someone who works in retail, your customer service skills are abysmal,” the Queen remarked. 

Regina was losing her patience with herself. “Enough games. What exactly are you going to do with that lamp?”

”All in good time,” said the Queen condescendingly. “Let me savor the moment. Let’s see. What shall I wish for?” She began pacing as she thought. “I shouldn’t be selfish. I do get three wishes after all. I really ought to share the wealth.”

Emma stepped back. “What does that mean?” The Queen ignored her in favor of more monologing.

“For my first wish, I’m going to give Emma the thing she wants more than anything – a normal life,” said the Queen kindly. “Emma’s tired, tired of fighting, tired of being brought in to save your asses, tired of being the Savior. Now she has to save you all from me again. Well, frankly, I’m tired of her. So here’s my gift to you, Emma. Genie…”

“I have a name, you know,” Aladdin said irritably.

The Queen ignored him too. “I wish for you to send Emma Swan far away. Give her a new life, in a world somewhere she never had to be the Savior.” Everyone gasped. “Any last words before you go?” said the Queen, basking in their shock and anguish.

Emma turned and looked at everyone around her. Of all things, she hadn't been expecting that. If she was any less stunned, she would have been screaming. Her eyes fell on Killian, but speech eluded her. “I’ll find you. I promise,” said Killian, teary-eyed. “Emma, I love you. More than anything in the world. You know that, right?”

She stood tall, trying to be strong for all of them. She smiled, like everything was going to be all right. “I know,” she whispered as tears welled up in her eyes too. "I..." Aladdin snapped his fingers. Emma disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Killian lost it. “You bring her back right now!” he demanded, gripping Aladdin by his vest. “Snap your fingers again! Bring Emma back!”

“I can’t!” said Aladdin as Killian shook him. “I can't undo wishes! I’m sorry!”

“But I can,” said Regina, stepping out of the crowd. She looked at Henry, thinking about his words from earlier. “For my second wish, I wish for you to send me wherever you sent Emma.”

The Queen scoffed at her. “What? You can’t do that! I’m holding the lamp, remember?”

Aladdin chuckled at the Queen’s outrage. “Yes, you can.” He snapped his fingers again, vanishing Regina as quickly as he did Emma. “And what is your third wish?”

The Queen screamed and smacked Aladdin across the face. “My _second_ wish is for you to bring her back here this instant!”

“I can’t. I don’t know where I sent her,” said Aladdin, smirking. “Do you really want to waste your last wish?”

The Queen’s gritted teeth started twisting into a grin. She started laughing. “I did want her gone. Perhaps this will work out perfectly. All right then. What should my last wish be?”

She surveyed the room, making eye contact with each one of them. When her eyes fell on Jim, he was so chilled that he instinctively reached for Jefferson’s hand. He barely could grip his fingers. They looked at each other. Jefferson wasn’t angry. He was just as scared as Jim was. He tightened his grip around Jim's hand as much as he could. They both waited in silence for what might very well be their deaths.

The Queen made up her mind. In truth, she had just been toying with them. She knew what she wanted from the start. “For my third and final wish, I wish for the entirety of Storybrooke and all its inhabitants to be transported into the Dark Realm.”

“What? No!” David called out. It was too late. They begged Aladdin to reconsider, but he had no choice.

Before he snapped his fingers, Aladdin turned to Jasmine. “Find me in the Cave of Wonders,” he told her. “I love you.” Aladdin snapped his fingers one last time. He disappeared into the lamp, which then disappeared from inside the Queen’s hands.

“That’s that, I guess. As promised,” she said gleefully, unbinding Jefferson’s hands around the box. He took out the heart and flung it over to David. David ran it through with his sword. The glow faded as the enchantment broke.

The room began to darken, like clouds were rolling in to block out the sun. The Queen looked out the window. “I guess that’s my cue. Thank you all so much for your cooperation,” she said with a bow. Killian tried to attack her, but she vanished before he had the chance.

Jim, Jefferson, Killian, David, Jasmine, Henry, and Violet were left in the room. They all looked at each other, stunned and completely at a loss. Killian and David lost Emma. Henry lost his mothers. Jasmine lost Aladdin. Jim, Jefferson, and Violet were just lost.

”What now?” Jim asked, the muffling spell wearing off.

David shook off his fugue. “We don’t have time to worry about Emma and Regina. They’re safe, wherever they are. We have to see about this Dark Realm business and make sure the zombies are actually dead.”

Violet burst into tears. Jefferson went over to her. “What’s wrong, Vi? What happened?” Jim remembered she was a friend of Grace's.

She looked up and through her tears said, “Those monsters ate my dad! He told me to run. That's when the Queen found me.” Jefferson wasted no time wrapping her up in a big hug. Nothing was going to make it better though.

”Violet, I’m so sorry,” Henry told her. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

”It’s all your mom’s fault!” Violet yelled at him. “He’d still be alive if it wasn’t for her!” Violet broke out of Jefferson’s arms and ran out of the room. Jim wouldn’t ever tell Henry this, but Violet was absolutely right.

Killian looked at David. “Hank was a good man. I’m going to miss seeing him around.” His mind was still on Emma though.

”I’ll miss him too, but we can’t think about that right now,” David replied. 

“I suppose I’ll go back to the carnival and warn everyone,” said Jasmine. “There’s no use for me here.” She slipped out the door. David also left, followed by Henry.

Killian stayed. He fell to the ground and started to cry. He practically flung himself at the point of Emma’s disappearance and didn’t notice as something fell out of his pocket. Jim picked it up. It was a small velvet box with a hinge on the back. Out of curiosity, Jim opened it.

Inside was a beautiful diamond engagement ring. Killian had been planning to propose. No wonder Killian had been so afraid of losing Emma, even to the point of irrationality. The stakes were unbearably high, higher than Jim even knew. Jim looked over at him, bent over on the ground. He was weeping hysterically, like he had just watched her die.

Jim shut the box. He wasn’t sure that Killian would want him to be the one consoling him. Jim had done a lot of crying over the past three weeks, more so than he had done in the past seventy years. Killian, however, was absolutely wailing. He abandoned all sense of dignity on the office floor.

”I need to get back to Grace,” said Jefferson, casting aside the empty heart box. In truth, Jefferson desperately wanted to escape the awkwardness. "Hook..."

"Just go!" Killian cried, waving him out the door.

Jim looked at the both of them and decided, “I think I should stay with Jefferson. It might be dangerous.” Before he left, Jim knelt down next to Killian. He placed the little box into Killian's hand and folded his fingers around it. He wanted him to know that Jim understood. "I am so sorry, _Hook_."

Hook stopped sobbing for a moment. He took the box and put it back in his pocket. "Thank you," was all he could choke out. His nose was running. His eyes were blood red. It’s how Jim looked in the mirror when he heard that Killian had died. Looking at him now, seeing his own pain reflected back at him, it was something Jim didn't know how to handle. Jim gave Hook a hug, then left him there.

”Poor Violet,” said Jim, as he and Jefferson descended the stairs. “I can’t imagine what it’s like losing a father at that age. You know, one who loves you. That part's kind of important. Oh, God. She must have seen it happen. Where's her mother?”

”She’s already dead,” Jefferson said. “She and Grace have that in common.”

”Who’s going to take care of her?” asked Jim, realizing Violet was now an orphan.

Jefferson shrugged. “I don't know. I’ll worry about that when my own daughter’s safe.”

Jim and Jefferson bid farewell to Regina's traumatized receptionist and left the building. A zombie lied lifeless across their path. Crushing the heart must have worked. Once outside, they got a good look at the sky. It was a smoky black, like it belonged to some alien atmosphere.

”Jeff, wasn’t it mid-afternoon when we broke into that warehouse?” Jim asked. Jefferson nodded. They both turned their gaze to the moon. “Is the moon... looking a little large to you?”

”Yeah,” said Jefferson, staring at it. Some rocky debris floated past it through space.

Behind them, a voice said, “Hello, boys!” They both jumped out of their skin. It was the Queen. “Enjoying the romantic view?”

“What do you want with us now?” Jefferson asked, instinctively covering Jim with his outstretched arm. Jim was surprised that Jefferson would be so protective of him.

“Nothing. Not after everything you’ve done to help me,” the Queen replied. She was beaming at them. Jefferson and Jim’s stomachs both sank thinking that they helped the Queen at all with her victory. “I’m going to give you each your wish.”

The Queen waved her hand and, in a column of smoke, Grace appeared in the middle of the parking lot. “Grace!” Jefferson called. He abandoned Jim to run to his daughter. He embraced her tightly. “Are you all right? Did she hurt you?”

“I’m fine, Dad. Really, everyone’s okay,” Grace said. Jefferson guided her to relative safety and stayed by her side.

“Regina’s gone,” the Queen told Jefferson. “Your daughter is all yours now.” Then the Queen turned to Jim. “Now you, Jim. What did you come here for again?”

Jim looked at the window to Regina's office. He swore he could still hear Hook blubbering in there. “Nothing,” Jim said, almost in a whisper.

“Then you’ll receive it,” said the Queen. She got very close to Jim's ear. _“In abundance_. I'm not finished with you yet. If I ever need you, you are going to help me tear this town apart.”

“I’m not helping you with anything,” Jim said defiantly.

“Oh, sweetie,” the Queen replied, chuckling to herself. “You won’t need to lift a finger.”

Jim, haunted by her words, moved over to be next to Jefferson and Grace. They all wanted to get as far away from the Queen as they possibly could. Then Jim took another look at the sky, at the swirling, surreal expanse above them.

“What is this? What have you done to Storybrooke?” Jim demanded.

“Storybrooke is fine," she assured him. "I’ve just moved it to the Dark Realm. I couldn’t take my old kingdom back and rewriting my story is doomed to failure, so I'm making a new kingdom right here. And I never would have thought of it if not for you and your friend Hyde.”

“Jim is not responsible for this,” Jefferson said through gritted teeth, but it didn’t make Jim feel better.

The Queen sauntered down the path merrily, reveling in a job well done. “You’re right. That’s giving him way too much credit. Don’t you have a daughter to lie to and say everything’s going to be all right? And you, sailor. Now that Emma’s out of the picture...” She pointed up to Hook with a suggestive tone.

“Not another word," Jim told her venomously. "You did not get rid of her for me.”

Jefferson found those to be very peculiar choices of words. He filled in the blanks. "Oh my god," Jefferson whispered to himself, unheard by Jim. He also looked back up at the office. "I really should have cancelled poker night."

The Queen strutted over to Jim. She flicked his nose. “True, but that’s what we call the icing on the cake. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a realm to conquer and some lives to ruin. It took my mother a week to take over Wonderland. How long do you think it'll take me? I gotta break Mom's record." With a cackle, she vanished into smoke.

Jim, Jefferson, and Grace were left huddling in front of City Hall gazing up at the Dark Realm's haunted sky. The power in the city flickered off in a wave. More screaming. Elsewhere, the hospital was being overrun with zombie victims. The funeral home would be quite busy too. Floyd. Hank. Jim wondered who else didn't make it. He hoped Nadir and Darius were safe. He checked his phone. No service in the Dark Realm, it seemed.

As they walked home with Grace, Jim and Jefferson both wondered what the hell they were supposed to do next. Jefferson, tired and afraid, kept one arm wrapped around them both for emotional support. Just knowing they were in the Dark Realm was terrifying. Storybrooke's ocean had dried up. Murky mountains loomed on the horizon instead.

Even the entrance to Jefferson's neighborhood became something of menace. Beyond it, they could see almost nothing but the faint glow of battery-powered lights in windows. Who knows what danger lurked within this dark dimension?

”Dad, I’m scared,” said Grace, trying to find her home in the unnatural shadows.

”Don’t worry, Gracie,” Jefferson told her. “We’ve got you. Right, Jim?”

They locked eyes. Jim nodded. Whatever happened, they were in this together. Jefferson took Grace's hand. To keep from losing each other in the unknown, she took Jim's hand as well. Together, the three of them took their first brave steps into the darkness.

 

To be continued.

 

”... _and happy ever after!” “I wish!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank everybody who has followed along with this fic. It’s been quite a ride and was a serious labor of love. I hope you’ll stick around for the next installment. Things are going to get wild.
> 
> Jim Hawkins  
> Jefferson Carter  
> Killian Jones  
> Emma Swan  
> David Nolan  
> Snow White  
> Regina Mills  
> Zelena Mills  
> Henry Mills  
> Violet Morgan  
> Victor Frankenstein  
> August Booth  
> Ruby Lucas  
> Agatha "Granny" Lucas  
> Dorothy Gale  
> Ariel  
> Ishmael  
> Captain Nemo  
> Nick Carraway  
> Belle French  
> Rumplestiltskin  
> Erik Svengali  
> Adam Frankenstein  
> Carmilla Karnstein  
> Aladdin  
> Princess Jasmine  
> Nadir Khan  
> and Darius  
> will return in “Jim Hawkins: A New Beginning”


	21. Jim Hawkins: A New Beginning (Preview)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A brief glimpse at the second installment in the series, "Jim Hawkins: A New Beginning." The story will feature new characters from the works of H.P. Lovecraft, P.L. Travers, Oscar Wilde, Dianna Wynn Jones, William Golding, Voltaire, and a new twist on the Black Fairy.

From “A Better Place”

“Emma, thank God! There you are!” Regina said, rushing over to her.

Emma stopped picking flowers. “I’m sorry. Do I know you?” she asked. There was an odd affect to her voice. She was wearing a long red gown with her hair done up in a braided bun. “And that’s _Princess Emma_ to you.”

 

* * *

 

From “Welcome to the Netherworld”

“I would go to hell and back to rescue my husband,” said Snow determinedly. “Now tell me where I can find him.”

Nick acquiesced. Setting down his book, he drew out a rough map. “The Dark Realm is connected to the Dreamlands by the Steps to Deeper Slumber. You’re going to have to go ‘up’ to find him. That’s where the Cavern of Flame is. If you reach the Mountains of Madness, you’ve gone too far. I don’t know how you’re gonna break the curse once you find him though.”

Snow took his map and folded it up. “You leave that part up to us.”

 

* * *

 

From “For Want of a Nail”

As Pinocchio got to work crafting their portal home, Regina wandered aimlessly about the nearby woods. She had actually done it. She killed them. In another life perhaps, but it still felt the same. And it felt empty. Before she left, she’d have to break the news to the Princess that her parents were dead. That would be a fun experience.

Regina rounded a corner. She was tangled up in her thoughts when she caught sight of another familiar face. He was older, maybe about sixty or so, but he still looked as charming and handsome as ever.

“Robin.”

 

* * *

 

From “There’s No Earthly Way of Knowing”

“So that was the ‘Best of All Possible Worlds’, huh? What did you see?” August asked. They stepped back through the portal from Westphalia to Storybrooke. “Did you run into yourself?”

Jefferson shook his head. “I ran into my wife though. Turns out, in this reality, I’m the one who’s dead. It was surreal. She did, however, give me this.” Jefferson showed August his infamous magic hat. “Don’t tell anyone about this, okay? How about you? What did you see?”

August shrugged. “Oh, you know, my father died and I took over the family business. It seemed like a logical progression of events.” August conveniently left out the part where he saw Pinocchio alone with the Princess in a passionate embrace.

 

* * *

 

From “The Place Where Lost Boys Go”

Jim and Jefferson sat and waited for death. Jim couldn’t believe that he was going to be killed by a cult of deranged schoolboys, but life and death have a way of surprising you.

Suddenly, they heard shouting outside. Through the cracks in the walls, Jim could see Lost Boys shooting arrows at an unseen target. The arrows dissolved in mid-flight. One by one, they fell over asleep. It seemed like someone had come to their rescue.

Jim heard the click of heels against the stone steps. The locked door blasted open with a bang. Through the cloud of dust, Jim saw an umbrella extended out like a magic wand. A woman’s shadowy figure stepped out into the light. She was wearing a red hat at a jaunty angle and carrying a carpet bag.

“This that...?” asked Jefferson, not believing his eyes.

Jim broke out in a wide, elated smile. “The one and only.”

Jefferson just stared at her. He could believe in a lot of impossible things, but even he had his limits. “No fucking way.”

“Well, a fine welcome this is. You really ought to mind your language, you know,” she said sternly, admiring her reflection in some broken glass. “There are children present.”

 

* * *

 

From “Growing Up”

“Sophie?” Jefferson said, certain he’d gone mad again. “Is that you?”

A silver-haired young woman looked up from her shopping. At first, she didn’t recognize the strange man speaking to her. Then her basket of groceries hit the ground. “Jefferson.”

They approached each other, astonished. “You’re so… young. How?” they said to each other. “A curse,” they replied. They both burst out laughing, which turned into tears, which turned into a long embrace.

“Where have you been all this time?” asked Sophie. “It’s been about forty years.”

“It’s a long story,” said Jefferson, helping her pick up her things. “Oh, Sophie, this is my friend Jim. Jim, this is my sister, Sophie Hatter.”

Sophie showed him the ring on her left hand. “Actually, it's Sophie Pendragon now."

 

* * *

 

From “My Better Half”

As they searched Westphalia for any sign of the Evil Queen, Jim and Jefferson stumbled upon an old graveyard. They would have simply moved past it if Jim hadn’t seen a headstone that gave him serious pause. He did a double take. An old weathered headstone read “James Hawkins.” Jim was staring at his own grave.

Just to be sure, Jim knelt down to move the grass away from the birth and death dates. What he read nearly made him fall over. The full inscription read “James Hawkins Jones."


End file.
